Delimitation of Constituencies
Part V (Sections 59 to 64) provides for redrawing J&K's constituencies. It was needed because Ladakh's four seats left the Assembly, and because J&K's constituencies had not been redrawn since 1995.
What the Act says
- Section 60: the Assembly is increased from 107 to 114 seats. The Election Commission and a Delimitation Commission set the constituencies, with seats reserved for SC and ST and a rule that each seat be single-member and compact.
- Section 62: readjustment is to be done on the 2011 census.
- Section 63: no further readjustment until the first census after 2026 is published.
- Section 64: the usual law on delimitation procedure applies.
The Delimitation Commission (2020 to 2022)
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Set up | 6 March 2020 (under the Delimitation Act, 2002) |
| Head | Justice (retd.) Ranjana Prakash Desai |
| Members | The Chief Election Commissioner (Sushil Chandra at the time of the final order) and the J&K State Election Commissioner, ex officio |
| Associate members | MPs from J&K, who could not vote |
| Final order | 5 May 2022 |
| Basis | 2011 census |
The result
| Region | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kashmir Division | 46 | 47 | +1 (Kupwara) |
| Jammu Division | 37 | 43 | +6 (Rajouri, Doda, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Kathua, Samba) |
| Total elected | 83 | 90 | +7 |
- 9 seats for Scheduled Tribes were reserved for the first time (6 in Jammu, 3 in Kashmir).
- Anantnag-Rajouri was created (see Parliament Seats). Each Lok Sabha seat has 18 Assembly segments.
- The Commission said it treated J&K as one unit, did not break a patwar circle (the lowest revenue unit) and kept each seat inside one district.
- Critics, mainly in Kashmir, said the new map favoured Jammu (43 of 90 seats against about 44 per cent of the population) and parties raised objections to specific seats such as Wagoora-Kreeri.
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from standard sources, official publications and the Census. Figures and recent developments change, so check official sources before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.