SECTION 8A OF THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT 1950

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About

The Election Commission of India to start the delimitation exercise of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in Assam as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides the allocation of seats in, and the delimitation of constituencies for election to, the House of the People and the Legislatures of States, the qualifications of voters at such elections, the preparation of electoral rolls,
- Section 8 of the Act: Delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in all States and Union Territories, except the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland.
- Section 8A of the Act: Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur or Nagaland.
Under Article 170 of the Indian Constitution, census figures (2001) shall be used for the readjustment of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies in the State.
- Reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be provided as per Articles 330 & 332 of the Constitution.
During the delimitation exercise, the Commission will keep in mind the physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facility of communication, and public convenience as far as practicable.

About the Delimitation Commission of India

Delimitation means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body.
Article 82 - Parliament by law enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.
The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
The main task of the commission is redrawing the boundaries of the various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on a current census.
The representation of each State is not changed during this exercise. However, the number of SC and ST seats in a state has changed under the census.
The present delimitation of constituencies has been done based on the 2001 census under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, of 2002.
The Commission is a powerful and independent body whose orders cannot be challenged in any court of law.
The orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the respective State Legislative Assemblies. However, modifications are not permitted.
Delimitation commissions have been set up four times in the past; 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002, under the Delimitation Commission Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
The present delimitation of parliamentary constituencies within states has been done based on the 2001 census.
According to the 84th amendment, the present constituencies carved out based on the 2001 census shall continue to be in operation till 2026.

Functions of the Delimitation Commission

The Delimitation Commission has to determine the number and boundaries of constituencies in such a manner that the population of all seats is the same, as far as practically possible.
The Commission also identifies the seats to be reserved for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes communities, in areas where their population is significant.
The Commission releases draft proposals to the public through the Gazette of India and the official gazettes of states, and also in regional language newspapers.
It also conducts public sittings wherein the public’s opinion is heard through written or oral representations.
If found appropriate, changes are made to the draft proposal.
The final order is published in the Gazettes and comes into effect by a date specified by the President.