Guwahati: The Election Commission of India (ECI) will hold public hearings in Guwahati from July 19 to discuss its draft proposal on the delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies of Assam. The hearings will be held to hear suggestions and objections from persons and parties.
The apex poll body had, through a notification dated June 20, invited suggestions and objections to its proposal on the delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies of Assam, by July 11, 2023.
Subsequently, about 500 suggestions and objections were submitted within the timeframe. “These suggestions and objections are under consideration of the Commission,” a notice issued by the ECI stated.
The ECI will hold the public sittings at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra International Auditorium here at Panjabari.
For the districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao, the sittings have been scheduled from 3pm onwards on July 19.
The public sittings for Dhubri, Goalpara, South Salmara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Cachar districts have been scheduled between 9.30 am and 12 pm on July 20, and will be followed by similar sittings for Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Nagaon, Sonitpur, Morigaon and Darrang districts from 12pm to 2pm on the same day.
This will be followed by an interaction on the draft with the members of national and state recognised parties from 3.30 pm onwards.
Likewise, the public sittings for Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Charaideo, Golaghat, Majuli and Tinsukia districts have been scheduled from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm on July 21.
Persons who have submitted the suggestions/objections and are desirous to present their matter before the Commission have been asked to appear at the venue in accordance with the schedule for the respective districts during July 19 to 21.
It may be noted that members of as many as 11 Opposition parties from Assam staged a sit-in protest in front of the Election Commission of India (ECI) office in New Delhi last Friday and voiced their opposition to the delimitation draft proposed for the state by the apex poll panel
During the sit-in demonstration, the opposition members shouted slogans against the ECI for its “refusal” to meet the visiting party delegation from Assam.
“After refusal by ECI to meet the 11-party delegation from Assam, the delegates started a sit-in protest in front of the ECI office. It’s a shame that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is using ECI as an extended arm of BJP,” the Assam Congress stated on its Twitter handle.
The party members, led by the Congress, were scheduled to submit a memorandum to the Election Commission against the delimitation draft for Assam.
The previous day, the party representatives had met All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge to share a representation of their collective opposition to the delimitation exercise.
Along with the Assam Congress, the parties that have come together to oppose the delimitation draft of ECI include the Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, Jatiya Dal, state units of the Trinamool Congress, NCP, CPI, CPI(M), CPI (M-L) Liberation, RJD and JD(U).
On the other hand, as protests by several groups and political parties intensified across Assam, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) urged the government and the Election Commission to listen to the voices of the masses and conduct the delimitation along with the nationwide delimitation scheduled for 2026.
AAP had voiced serious concern over the draft delimitation for the upcoming elections in Assam, stating that the reliance on the “outdated census data from 2001 in the delimitation process, without accounting for population growth and demographic changes since then, has attracted vehement opposition from the people of the state.”
Rajya Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev, staged a 10-hour hunger strike in Silchar on Monday in protest against the delimitation draft.
Dear Reader,
Every day, our team at EastMojo travels through rain, rough roads, and remote hills to bring you stories that matter – stories from your town, your people, your Northeast.
We do this because we believe in truthful, independent journalism. No big corporate backing, no government pressure – just honest reporting by local journalists who live and breathe the same air you do.
But to keep doing this work, we need you. Your small contribution helps us pay our reporters fairly, reach places others ignore, and keep asking the tough questions.
If you believe the Northeast deserves its own fearless voice, stand with us.
Support independent journalism. Be a Member.
Thank you,
Karma Paljor
Editor-in-Chief, eastmojo.com
The ECI proposed for the delimitation in 126 Assembly seats and 14 Lok Sabha seats. According to the proposal, the Assembly seats in the three districts of Barak Valley, the number of which was 15 till the 2021 elections, will be reduced to 13.
“The Assam chief minister needs to listen to the people of Barak Valley and write to the ECI against the proposal to reduce seats in Barak Valley. He is not the chief minister of one party or a particular area. People of Barak Valley also voted him to this position and it is his duty to listen to voices in Barak Valley,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Also Read | Assam supports UCC, wants to ban polygamy: CM Himanta