The recent approval of parliamentary and assembly constituency delimitation in Assam by President Droupadi Murmu has garnered praise from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Sarma shared the Gazette notification and expressed his sentiments on the achievement, describing it as a “significant milestone” in the history of Assam.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has finalized the order on the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies for Assam. Despite the changes, the number of assembly seats will remain at 126, while Lok Sabha seats will stand at 14. This official order has been duly published in both the Central Government’s and the State of Assam’s gazettes.
Of note, the allocation of legislative assembly seats for Scheduled Castes (SC) has seen an increase from eight to nine, accompanied by an additional Lok Sabha seat allocation. Moreover, an assembly seat has been introduced in the autonomous districts of West Karbi Anglong District. The order ensures the reservation of 19 assembly and two parliamentary constituencies for Scheduled Tribes (ST), in accordance with the constitutional provisions outlined in Articles 330 and 332 of the Constitution of India.
The delimitation process has been conducted using the 2001 Census figures, as specified in Articles 170 and 82 of the Constitution. The commission has stressed that these figures have been considered solely for the purpose of delimitation. The decision to maintain 126 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Assam and allocate 14 seats in the House of the People for the state has been made in adherence to constitutional guidelines. The commission also cited that the allocation of seats will remain unchanged until the relevant figures from the first census conducted after the year 2026 are published.
