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FERGUSSON COLLEGE
YOUTH PARLIAMENT 2023

STUDY GUIDE

Committee: Lok Sabha

Agenda: Discussing the basis of the upcoming

process of Delimitation and its impact on India’s
polity.
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LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Hello Parliamentarians! Welcome to the Fergusson College Youth Parliament 2023.

The topic under our discussion is regarding the planned upcoming delimitation. The focus of
this agenda will be to discuss the basis and impact of the delimitation on Indian political system
as a whole which can be resolved by bringing the much needed reforms in this area. This
committee would work together to find out the apt means to find a solution with regards to
the agenda at hand.

The focus of the House is to encourage constructive debate through concept-based arguments
and not information-heavy ones. Youth Parliaments are famous for being intensely concentrated
on laws, Political Conditions and resolution documents. While those are important as well, we
would like to encourage you to look at the arguments and solutions that look at the agenda from
a ground- level approach. Start thinking about the questions so that you can think of the
problems and solutions in real-life scenario. When you propose policies, they should effectively
be based on how well they are able to realistically solve problems. Think small so that you can
think big.

Please make sure to also go through the links provided in the guide. Parliamentarians must be
prepared to intelligently utilize their knowledge and apply it to their own party’s policies.
You will find that your party has a unique position on the topics that cannot be substituted by
the opinions of another party. Therefore, please come prepared for the conference from the
perspective of your party, the topic and the Indian Governance system, for a truly rewarding
experience.

Your contributions to the house will be assessed on how well you have researched on these
levels and if you are able to put forward your argument in a clear and logical manner.

We hope to contribute to your growth in the house and learn more from you as well!

Good luck!

Tarun Malik (Speaker)

Omkar Handibag(Deputy Speaker)

Mugdha Thorat (Advisor)

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VALID SOURCES:

1. Government Reports

2. PIB

3. Website of the Ministries

4. Lok Sabha Website

5. PRS

6. PTI

7. ANI

8. Any other website with .gov in URL

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Index

● About the Committee - Page 3

● Introduction - Page 3
● History of Delimitation in India - Page 4
● What 2026 Delimitation could look like - Page 5
● Politics Behind Delimitation - Page 6
● Shift in Political Power - Page 6
● References - Page 7
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About the Committee

As per the provision of Article 79 of Indian Constitution, the House of the People, the Lok Sabha
is the lower House of the parliament. Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people
chosen by direct election on the basis of the adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House
envisaged by the Constitution is 552.

The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of people chosen by direct election on the basis of
Universal Adult Suffrage. The Constitution of India allows for a maximum of 550 members in
the House, with 530 members representing the States and 20 representing the Union Territories.
At present, the Lok Sabha has 543 seats filled by elected representatives. The term of the Lok
Sabha, unless dissolved, is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. However,
while a proclamation of emergency is in operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by
law for a period not exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case, beyond a period
of six months after the proclamation has ceased to operate.

Introduction

Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial
constituencies in a country or a province has a legislative body. The job of delimitation is
assigned to a high-power body. Such a body is known as the Delimitation Commission or a
Boundary Commission. In India, such Delimitation Commissions have been constituted 4 times –
in 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952, in 1963 under the Delimitation
Commission Act, 1962, in 1973 under the Delimitation Act, 1972 and in 2002 under the
Delimitation Act, 2002. The Delimitation Commission in India is a high-power body whose
orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court. These orders come into
force on a date specified by the President of India on this behalf. The copies of its orders are laid
before the House of the People and the State Legislative Assembly concerned, but no
modifications are permissible therein by them.

Article 82 of the Constitution states that after every Census is completed, the allocation of Lok
Sabha seats to each state must be adjusted based on population changes. At the same time,
Article 81 states there can be no more than 550 members in the Lok Sabha – 530 from states and
20 from Union Territories. It also says that “the ratio between (the number of seats) and the
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population of the state is, so far as practicable, the same for all states”. So, each constituency
across the country should ideally have the same population.

The Commission, in consultation with State Election Commissions, examines changes in the
population to redraw constituencies or create new ones. It then publishes in the Gazette of India
its draft report, which is open for public feedback. After accounting for the feedback, the
Commission publishes its final report. Once published, the Commission’s orders are final and, as
per the Delimitation Commission Act 1952 and Article 329A of the Constitution, have the “full
force of law and shall not be called into question in any court”.

History of Delimitation in India

The delimitation was first done in 1952 following the 1951 census wherein 494 Lok Sabha seats
were allotted. The next one came in 1963 following the reorganisation of states in 1956, which
saw the number of Lok Sabha seats go up to 522. The third and last one in 1973 raised the
number to 543, which remains till this day.
After the delimitation in 1972-73, the process had been suspended twice for 25 years in 1976 and
in 2001. A delimitation exercise undertaken in 2001 did redraw the borders of several
constituencies in order to bring about a certain amount of equality in population in each
constituency. However, the number of constituencies that each state had did not change. The
constituency borders have been frozen since then until the first census after 2026, or at least until
after 2031.

The suspension came about after it was argued that the population in certain states continued to
grow as against others which declined. The suspension was done to allow states with higher
fertility rates to bring down their rates as per the population control measures introduced by the
Centre.
However, there are still apprehensions that despite all these years, these states would have a
comparatively higher population, and therefore, this would result in a higher number of seats for
them.
A 2019 paper by Milan Vaishnav and Jamie Hintson from American think tank Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace had projected the total number of Lok Sabha seats to go up
to 846 in 2026, based on population projections for that year. As per this estimate, Uttar Pradesh
would see its constituencies go up to 143 from the current 80 and Bihar’s would nearly double to
79 from 40.
On the other hand, southern states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu would lose 16 seats, according
to the paper.
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What 2026 Delimitation could look like

The delimitation exercise in 2026 would presumably seek to allocate seats so that each
parliamentary constituency has roughly the same population. This would mean an increase in
seats in states with high populations.

Take Uttar Pradesh as an example. In the 1971 Census, on which the current seat allocation is
based, UP had a population of 8.8 crore (including Uttarakhand). According to population
projections from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, UP’s projected population is 23.1
crore in 2021, 24.3 crore in 2026 and 25.1 crore in 2031. If population data published around
2026 becomes the basis for the next delimitation exercise, UP could gain an estimated 14 Lok
Sabha seats.

Though there are no binding stipulations on the population of each constituency, Article 81 says
that “states shall be divided, grouped or formed into territorial constituencies and the number of
members to be allotted to each such constituency shall be so determined as to ensure that there
shall be not less than one member for every 7,50,000 of the population and not more than one
member for every 5,00,000 of the population”.

According to Vaishnav and Hestin, if accurate apportionment of Lok Sabha seats had been done
in keeping with the 2011 Census, then four northern states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
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and Uttar Pradesh) would collectively have gained 22 seats, while four southern states (Andhra
Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu) would have lost 17 seats in the present Lok Sabha.

This trend is likely to intensify by 2026, according to population projections, which show that
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh alone would gain as many as 21 seats together, while Tamil Nadu and
Kerala together would lose 16 seats.

Politics behind Delimitation

Leaders of southern states have raised this fear, stating that the northern states whose population
growth rates have been higher than theirs would go on to benefit from a delimitation exercise
whereas southern states which have followed the Centre’s norms on population control would be
penalised.
KT Rama Rao, IT Minister of Telangana and working president of the state’s ruling party BRS,
has called all leaders of political parties of southern states to join the fight against the
delimitation as these states comprising 18 percent of the country’s population contribute 35
percent of the GDP. With delimitation, these states would be put to disadvantage.
Politically, it would mean that a party could win a simple majority in the general elections by
winning just the seats in northern states. This could lead to further ignoring of southern states in
measures and funding. Lower representation in the Lok Sabha would mean more power to
representatives of northern states on decisions put to vote in the house.

Shift in Political Power

2026 Delimiation is likely to hand over political advantage to parties that are based out of
northern states, such as the BJP. This has given rise to a debate in which some have questioned if
representation according to population numbers should also include provisions for inclusion of
those who are under-represented due to social factors.

Another important shift in terms of electoral politics would be in the number of constitutionally
reserved SC/ST seats in the south and the north. The number of SC/ST seats reserved in each
state is in proportion to the population share of these communities in the overall population of
the state. If revised according to the 2011 population figures, the Lok Sabha overall would have
one more seat reserved for the STs and two more for the SCs, the paper pointed out.

However, the real political shift lies in how the total number of SC/ST seats in the Lok Sabha
will be redistributed among states. Slower-growing southern states would lose reserved seats,
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while faster-growing northern states would gain them. All in all, the reservation status of 18 seats
would change, claimed the paper.

However, Vaishnav said the country has “come to a moment” where the exercise cannot be
stalled any further.

“This (is) a moment akin to the 1956 States Reorganisation Commission, which was a moment
when we really had to think about what a grand bargain would look like, and how we address the
question of a federal structure. If we consider some of these issues (the loss of seats by Southern
states) together, there can be some kind of barter. For example, of course Kerala would not like
losing relative share of power, but this upset might be offset if it could lock-in some kind of
guarantees on fiscal transfers,”

According to the 15th Finance Commission’s formula for tax sharing among states, Karnataka,
Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were reportedly the biggest losers.

References

● https://eci.gov.in/delimitation-website/delimitation/
● https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/delimitation-and-the-changing-india-polit
ical-map-8950367/
● https://www.cnbctv18.com/politics/what-is-delimitation-meaning-and-why-ktr-stalin-and
-others-are-opposing-bjp-16844431.htm
● https://theprint.in/india/governance/how-census-based-delimitation-for-lok-sabha-seats-c
ould-shake-up-politics-disadvantage-south/1287536/
● https://twitter.com/indiainpixels/status/1463109385182318594
● https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/03/14/india-s-emerging-crisis-of-representation-pub
-78588
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DIRECTIVES FOR THE PARLIAMENTARIANS

The background guide is a brief outlook of what direction of discussion will be, but the
deliberation shall not be limited to the circumference of given research areas. Any major
concern regarding the very agenda may also be take into consideration depending on the time
constraint and other possibilities as per the case as may be. One is requested to come up with a
detailed research; the qualities of speech, research, lobbying, drafting etc. all shall be forming
the part of the evaluation in the very academic simulation. The house shall function as per the
Indian Parliamentary procedure. One is requested to be aware about the same up to reasonable
level. However, the guidance with regard to same shall be provided before the commencement
of the session. In any case the decision of the Speaker shall be supreme and He shall have the
right to take decision for any matter at any time of the house.

Wishing you all the very best.

Happy Debating !!!!