Nine opposition parties of the country, including the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI(M), CPI, TMC, NCP, RJD, and the Anchalik Gana Morcha have filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing delimitation process in Assam.
Filed by Advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi on behalf of 10 political leaders, the petition has specifically challenged the methodology adopted by the Election Commission and its proposals, as notified on June 20.
The petitioners include Lurinjyoti Gogoi (Assam Jatiya Parishad), Debabrata Saikia (INC), Rokibul Hussain (INC), Akhil Gogoi (Raijor Dal), Manoranjan Talukdar (CPI(M)), Ghanakanta Chutia (Trinamool Congress), Munin Mahanta (CPI), Diganta Konwar (Anchalik Gana Morcha), Mahendra Bhuyan (Nationalist Congress Party), and Swarna Hazarika (Rashtriya Janata Dal).
The plea has challenged the recent proposals of the Election Commission regarding the readjustment of 126 Assembly and 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam.
The petition has contended that different average assembly sizes for different districts and population density should not play a role in the delimitation process.
It pointed out that while the Constitution aimed at re-adjusting the constituencies to ensure equal population distribution, the Election Commission, while relying on the Census figures of 2001, has created three categories of districts and used different criteria for each category, potentially resulting in a deviation of up to 33 percent in population between the largest and smallest constituencies.
Furthermore, the petition challenges Section 8A of the Representation of People Act, 1950, under which the Election Commission exercises its power. The petitioners argue that this provision is arbitrary, opaque, and discriminatory against Assam and three other northeastern states.
They pointed out that delimitation exercises for the rest of the country have been conducted by a high-powered body headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge, and a similar commission was formed for Jammu & Kashmir.
It further cited the statements made by Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma, alleging that the current delimitation exercise would benefit the BJP, while harming other opposition parties.
The petitioners alleged that such statements undermined confidence in the exercise and raised concerns that the Election Commission’s independence has been compromised by the state government.
The plea seeks the Supreme Court’s intervention to address these issues and ensure a fair and unbiased delimitation process in Assam.