Delimitation

Background and evolution

Delimitation is meant to ensure equal representation: each constituency should have roughly the same population, so that one person's vote counts about as much as another's. After independence, Parliament passed Delimitation Commission Acts in 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002, setting up commissions after each census.

In 1976 the 42nd Amendment froze the allocation of Lok Sabha and assembly seats among states on the basis of the 1971 census until after the 2001 census. The aim was to avoid penalising states that controlled population growth. The 84th Amendment (2001) extended the freeze until the first census after 2026, but allowed boundaries within states to be redrawn using the 2001 census. The commission set up in 2002, chaired by Justice Kuldip Singh, redrew constituencies, and its orders came into force in 2008.

Key features and provisions

• Composition: a retired Supreme Court judge as chairperson, the Chief Election Commissioner or a nominated Election Commissioner, and the State Election Commissioner of the state concerned; members of Parliament and assemblies act as associate members without voting rights.
• Process: draft proposals are published and public hearings are held before final orders.
• Legal status: the commission's orders are published in the Gazette and have the force of law.
• Reserved seats: it also determines which constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Women's reservation: the 106th Amendment links reservation of seats for women to delimitation after the next census.