In pursuance of a request from the Ministry of Law & Justice, the Election Commission of India, on Tuesday, declared that it has initiated the delimitation exercise of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in Assam as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, has directed the chief electoral officer of Assam to take up the matter with the state government to issue a complete ban on the creation of new administrative units w.e.f. 1 January 2023 till the completion of delimitation exercise in the state.

As mandated under Article 170 of the Constitution, census figures (2001) shall be used for the purpose of 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, an official press note said.

The Commission will design and finalise its own guidelines and methodology for the purpose of delimiting the constituencies. During the delimitation exercise, the Commission will keep in mind the physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facility of communication, and public convenience and as far as practicable, the constituencies will be kept as geographically compact areas.

Once a draft proposal of the delimitation of constituencies in the state is finalised by the Commission, it shall be published in the central and state gazettes for inviting suggestions/objections from the general public. In this regard, a notice will also be published in two vernacular newspapers of the state specifying the date and venue for public sittings to be held in the state.

The Commission was requested by the Ministry of Law & Justice to conduct the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies on 15 November. Under the provisions of the Delimitation Act 1972, the last delimitation of constituencies in the state was done on the basis of census figures of 1971 by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976.