Assam Political Parties Criticize Election Commission’s Constituency Realign Plan

Political parties in Assam are expressing their displeasure with the Election Commission’s plan to realign constituencies following the publication of draft delimitation proposals for assembly and parliamentary seats in the state. The Chief Minister of Assam expressed sadness over the trifurcation of his constituency, while opposition parties accused the Election Commission of acting as an extended arm of BJP under a conspiracy to safeguard the vote bank of the saffron party. The draft proposals will alter the geographical boundaries of most of the constituencies while eliminating some seats and creating a few new ones, with the number of assembly seats remaining at 126 and the Lok Sabha constituencies at 14. The Election Commission intends to increase the number of assembly seats reserved for Scheduled Castes from eight to nine and for Scheduled Tribes from 16 to 19, while also proposing two parliamentary constituencies under the ST category and one for the SC community. The chief election commissioner and two election commissioners are scheduled to visit Assam in July to conduct a public hearing on the draft proposal.