Ranchi: JMM, the lead constituent party of INDIA bloc in the state, cautioned the Union govt that the process of de-limitation should be taken up in the state only if the existing ratio of reserved seats was maintained. Failing which, the party would resort to protest, the party members said.
The JMM-Congress-RJD-CPI(ML) alliance won 27 of the 28 seats reserved for ST candidates and five of the nine reserved for SC in the 81-member house in the recently concluded assembly elections.
Central general secretary of JMM, Supriyo Bhattacharya, said the indications were loud and clear with the start of winter session of the Lok Sabha on Monday. "The Centre is planning to conduct the census in 2025. It will undertake the delimitation process soon after to restructure the assembly segments, which has remained pending in Jharkhand," he said.
Out of the 45% seats reserved in the Jharkhand assembly, 34% are for the tribals and 11% for the scheduled caste. The 81 state assembly seats and 14 parliamentary constituencies are based on the 1971 Census. Though the geographical demarcation of constituencies in other states was changed based on the recommendations of the delimitation commission of 2002, which was notified by the Union govt in 2008, it remained unaltered in Jharkhand as the commission could not complete its survey in the state due to protests.
Bhattacharya claimed, "They (BJP) are aware that they cannot win the seats dominated by tribals, SC, minority, women, and youths. Hence, there would be a concerted attempt to slash the seats to ensure better political prospects of the party in future."