In Guwahati ECI begins 3-day public hearing on draft delimitation

Guwahati: A full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) arrived on July 19 to hold a series of public hearings on draft delimitation proposals for Assam’s assembly and parliamentary constituencies.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel along with senior ECI officials arrived in Guwahati on July 19 and started the three-day hearing at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra Complex.
An official of the Election Department told the media that the hearing is being held simultaneously in three different halls. Kumar, Pandey and Goel are present in each hall to hear public suggestions.
During this public hearing, the ECI will meet with various stakeholders, including political parties and civil society, on draft proposals for the delimitation exercise.
On the first day, proposals will be accepted for Kamrup Metropolitan, West Karbi Anglong, Chirang, Baksa, Dima Hasao, Kamrup, Udalguri, Karbi Anglong and Kokrajhar districts.
Feedback on the draft for Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Karimganj, Darrang, Hailakandi, Cachar, South Salmara, Nagaon, Morigaon and Dhubri will be heard on Thursday. On the last day, ECI will listen to the prayers regarding Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Golaghat and Majuli districts. The Chief Electoral Officer of Assam had on Tuesday requested all public organizations to limit the number of representatives for each group to a maximum of five persons.
After the publication of the draft proposals, opposition parties and several social organizations criticized the ECI and alleged that the central electoral body was acting as a “puppet” of the ruling BJP. However, ECI has not yet reacted to these allegations.
Many political parties have even knocked the door of the Supreme Court against the entire delimitation exercise.
The ECI had notified the draft delimitation document on June 20, keeping the number of Assembly seats in Assam at 126 and Lok Sabha seats at 14.
There are seven Rajya Sabha seats in the state. According to the draft, the seats in the Assembly reserved for Scheduled Castes have been increased from eight to nine and for Scheduled Tribes from 16 to 19.
Two constituencies under ST category and one constituency under SC category have been proposed for parliamentary constituencies.
The polling panel has also planned to change the geographical boundaries of most constituencies, both Assembly and Lok Sabha, while eliminating some seats and creating some new ones.
An ECI team had earlier visited Assam on March 26-28 and held discussions with political parties, public representatives, members of civil society, social organizations, members of the public and officials regarding the demarcation exercise.
In all, representations from 11 political parties and 71 other organizations were received and considered during the ECI visit.