IS DELIMITATION REALLY NECESSARY? WHAT WOULD BE A POSSIBLE SOLUTION?
"A divided road makes a smooth journey." – This implies that when boundaries are redrawn
through delimita on to reflect popula on changes, it creates a more balanced and smoother
democra c process.
In the context of India's electoral system, the proposed delimita on exercise based on the upcoming
2026 census data is a mely interven on(CHANGE A SITUATION) aimed at ensuring fair and equal
representa on.
NOW THE QUESTION, Is Delimita on Necessary in India in 2026?
Delimita on is essen al to adjust electoral boundaries in response to popula on changes, ensuring
that each ci zen's vote carries equal weight. The last delimita on was conducted in 2002, based on
the 2001 Census data. Since then, significant demographic shi s have occurred, par cularly with the
southern states achieving lower birth rates due to effec ve family planning.
The upcoming 2026 Census will provide updated data, enabling the redrawing of cons tuency
boundaries to reflect current popula on distribu ons. This process aims to prevent IN maintaining
the principle of "one person, one vote."
NOW States like U ar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, which have seen significant
popula on growth, generally support the delimita on exercise.
AND States governed by the Bhara ya Janata Party (BJP), like Assam and Haryana, have
shown support for the delimita on process, as they believe it will bring fairness to areas with
high popula on growth and promote be er resource alloca on.
On the other hand States Opposing Delimita on:
IN Southern States: like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh have opposed the
delimita on exercise. These states argue that their popula on growth has slowed
significantly due to effec ve family planning policies. As a result, they fear that the
realloca on of cons tuencies could unfairly disadvantage them by giving more
representa on to northern states, where popula ons con nue to grow rapidly.
AND West Bengal: has also expressed concern, par cularly due to its significant urban
popula on. Leaders from the state have claimed that delimita on could undermine the
poli cal weight of regions that have already seen substan al popula on decline in rural
areas.
The upcoming delimita on exercise in India (likely in 2026) MAY face several unique
challenges due to demographic, poli cal, social, and administra ve factors. Here are some
key challenges India may encounter during this process are :
2. Urbaniza on and Popula on Migra on
Urbaniza on: India has witnessed rapid migra on from rural to urban areas, and ci es like
Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and others are experiencing huge popula on increases. This
leads to dispropor onate representa on in urban cons tuencies, poten ally sidelining
rural areas.
Inter-State Migra on: Significant migra on between states (e.g., from Bihar to
Maharashtra, U ar Pradesh to Delhi) will also affect the process. Mapping these migra on
pa erns accurately is a challenge as migrants may not be captured properly in Census data,
making it hard to adjust cons tuency boundaries fairly.
3. Poli cal Resistance and Sensi vity
