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What is the News?
Delimitation of constituencies is being carried out in union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Recently, Prime Minister of India chaired a meeting with political parties of Jammu and Kashmir.
What is Delimitation?
- Delimitation is the redrawing of boundaries of an assembly or Lok Sabha constituency to reflect changes in the population of a region.
- Conducted by: The Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act under Article 82 of the Constitution and an independent high-powered panel known as the Delimitation Commission is constituted by the President of India to carry out the exercise.
- Composition: Retired Supreme Court judge, Chief Election Commissioner and Respective State Election Commissioners.
- Associate members: Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of states for which the Delimitation Commission is set up, are nominated as associate members to help the commission in its task.
- Powers: The Delimitation Commission is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
Delimitation in J&K:
- Delimitation in J&K had followed a slightly different trajectory than in the rest of the country due to the special status it was accorded under Article 370.
- While the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India, Assembly seats allocation was governed under Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
- The last Delimitation exercise was conducted in J&K in 1995 based on the 1981 census. There was no census in the state in 1991.And after the 2001 census, the J&K assembly had passed a law putting on hold delimitation till 2026.
- However, following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status and became a Union Territory. Hence, a delimitation commission has been constituted to carve out Assembly and Parliament seats.
Source: The Hindu
