ABSTRACT
As per the provisions of the Indian constitution, delimitation of constituencies was to take place every ten years soon after the data of the new census is released. Electoral constituencies as far as possible should be of equal size, all assembly seats to be of the same size, and all Lok Sabha constituencies across the country to be of the same size, with a few exceptions for the hill states. This was meant to ensure the same value of votes of all the voters. Since the population of urban locations grows at a much faster pace compared to that of the rural population, the numbers of voters automatically become much higher in urban constituencies compared to rural constituencies. This exercise of delimitation was to be carried out after every census to rectify this anomaly, which creeps in slowly and gradually, by redrawing the boundaries of the constituency in such a way that all constituencies are of equal size. But regular delimitation has not been possible due to several reasons; the last delimitation was carried out only in 2008, in which many issues were left untouched due to the possibility of arising controversy. The next delimitation of constituencies is due in 2026, and the Delimitation Commission would need to handle a lot of challenges, some of which were left untouched by the previous Delimitation Commission and some new issues. This chapter analyzes in detail those challenges which the new Delimitation Commission needs to handle.
