Introduction:

Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body. Under Article 82 of the Constitution, the Parliament by law enacts a Delimitation Act after every census. After coming into force commencement of the Act, the Central Government constitutes a Delimitation Commission. This Delimitation Commission demarcates the boundaries of the Parliamentary Constituencies as per provisions of the Delimitation Act.

Body:

Current Scenario:

• The present delimitation of constituencies has been done on the basis of 2001 census figures under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002.
• Notwithstanding the above, the Constitution of India was specifically amended in 2002 not to have delimitation of constituencies till the first census after 2026.
• Thus, the present Constituencies carved out on the basis of 2001 census shall continue to be in operation till the first census after 2026.

• Population is the basis of allocation of seats of the Lok Sabha. As far as possible, every State gets representation in the Lok Sabha in proportion to its population as per census figures.

India will soon have to deal with the issue of delimitation of constituencies:

Until the early 1970s, it was the general practice to redraw constituencies based on the most recent population available, but the total number of members was constant.

The idea of redrawing was to have each member of Parliament (MP) represent roughly an equal number of voters, hence the redrawing of constituencies.

We may desire “equality” of constituencies, but economic development and demographic patterns do not develop uniformly across the country. Some states have achieved zero population growth while others still have very high fertility rates.

• Increase in Population:
  • In 1971, India’s population was 548 million, and by 2031, the first census after 2026, it may well be close to 1.4 billion. The great apprehension is that redrawing boundaries and distributing the existing 550 MPs might mean that the south will lose a lot of seats to the north.
  • Even if more members are added to the Lok Sabha, that incremental gain will mostly go to the northern states.

• Anomaly in Size of constituency:
  • One of the distortions and anomalies created by the 1971 freeze, which applies to national elections, is that we have constituencies as small as 50,000 and as large as three million residents.
  • Thus, there is a skew in the number of voters each MP represents in Parliament.
• Age of the representatives:
  • The average age of the 13th Lok Sabha was 55.5 years, which went down to 52.7 in the 14th, but then went up again to 53 in the 15th, and 56 in the outgoing one.
  • It was only 46.5 years in 1952. India’s median age, however, is just 26. Two-thirds of the population is below 35.
  • Yet our MPs are getting older. In contrast, the so-called ageing countries like the UK, Italy, France and Canada are electing much younger leaders.
• Non-Inclusive:
  • Women account for only 12% of the Lok Sabha. At least three states have zero female MPs. Less than 10% of candidates are women.
  • The Women’s Reservation Bill, meanwhile, has been pending in Parliament for over four decades.
• Wealth:
  • 82% of all Lok Sabha members have declared wealth of more than ?1 crore.
  • Their numbers have gone up from 156 to 315 to 449 in the last three Lok Sabhas.
  • Their average wealth (declared via self-sworn affidavits) is around ?14 crore. (In the Rajya Sabha, the average is ?55 crore).
  • The average income is around ?31 lakh, which is 20 times India’s present per capita income.
• Criminality:
  • The proportion of MPs with criminal cases has been going up steadily, from 12% to 15% to 21%, since 2004.
  • These are cases for which if they were convicted, they would not have been allowed to contest.
  • Many cases are for heinous crimes like rape, murder, kidnapping and extortion. But the law does not bar them from contesting elections, even from prison.
• Dynasty politics:
  • It is well known (and documented by Patrick French) that an increasing number of elected representatives have a close relative (parent, spouse, sibling or cousin) who was an incumbent or a senior politician.

Conclusion:

While 2026 is still a few years away, if we do not start a debate now on how to deal with the problems that are likely to arise, we will be forced to postpone the lifting of the freeze to a future date as was done in 2001. This will only postpone the problem for which we must find a solution sooner or later. Even the various proposals for electoral reforms which have been recommended by various Commissions over the past decade do not address these issues. These are challenges which our political leaders have to address in the immediate future.