Assam delimitation plan sparks ethnic stir; will benefit only BJP, say critics

A communal and ethnic flashpoint is brewing in Assam over a draft proposal for the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies released recently by the Election Commission of India.

The bone of contention is the fear of getting politically marginalised by certain communities, as the delimitation would change the demographic profile of several constituencies, including around 15 minority-dominated assembly seats.

The fear has sparked protests in various parts of the state, including the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley and the Ahom-dominated areas of Upper Assam.

Muslim organisations, too, have lined up a slew of agitational programmes to oppose the delimitation exercise, which the state’s BJP-led government has welcomed, calling it a protective shield for the indigenous communities.

The Ahom areas

The Tai Ahom groups, however, have debunked the BJP’s contention, pointing out that the influence of the community would be reduced to four from eight assembly constituencies.

Sivasagar, Thowra, Sonari, Mahmara, Nazira, Naharkatia, Khumtai, and Moran are the eight seats currently considered to be Ahom bastions.

Also read: Opposition vents ire; protests continue in Assam against delimitation proposals

The redrawing of boundaries of Assam’s 126 assembly constituencies as proposed by the ECI draft will limit the Ahom influence to Demow, Nazira, Naharkatia, and Khumtai, said Tai Ahom Yuva Parishad leader Bijay Rajkonwar. Demow is the new constituency created by abolishing Thowra.

The draft further proposed to abolish Lahowal constituency in Dibrugarh district that has sizable Ahom voters.

“Ahom voters of this constituency will now be scattered in two constituencies — Dibrugarh and Moran,” Rajkonwar added.

The number of assembly seats in the Ahom heartland of Sivasagar district will come down to three from four if the delimitation proposal is implemented.

#WATCH | Assam: Several organisations and political parties have called for a 12-hour bandh in Barak Valley, Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts, as a protest against the proposed delimitation draft by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

(Visuals from Karimganj) pic.twitter.com/wYeTp5iWAD

— ANI (@ANI) June 27, 2023

Minority-dominated regions

The rejig will lead to similar curtailment of minority-dominated seats. At present, over 30 seats are dominated by minorities. In the 2021 assembly elections, Assam elected 31 MLAs from the minority community.

“Our preliminary assessment says that minority domination will be reduced in at least 15 to 16 seats,” said Rejaul Karim Sarkar, president of the All Assam Minority Students’ Union.

These seats are four in Barak Valley, two each in Barpeta, Dhubri, and Nagaon districts, one each in Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Goalpara, Kamrup, and Darang districts, and one in Bodo Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD) area, Karim added.

Barak Valley is a Bengali-majority region in Assam. The number of assembly constituencies in the valley has been proposed to be reduced from 15 to 13.

Move to benefit BJP

“The entire process has been done by the ECI at the behest of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to benefit the BJP,” alleged Assam Congress spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharjee.

In a virtual endorsement of the claim by critics that the delimitation process is part of the BJP’s majoritarian push, many saffron party leaders admit that the exercise will benefit the party.

Also read: As poll season approaches, BJP turns gaze to ethnic faultlines in East

“Though Barak Valley will tend to lose two seats, the BJP will gain a few additional seats,” said Bimalendu Roy, president of the Cachar district unit of the BJP. Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi are the three districts that constitute Barak Valley.

“Of the 15 seats, the BJP could pocket a maximum of six. If the delimitation becomes a reality, we will surely win nine of the 13 seats,” he added.

Citing an instance, he said the percentage of minority voters in Hailakandi constituency after delimitation would drop by 20 to 25 per cent. The BJP could win the seat only once in 1991.

Welcoming the draft proposal, the Assam chief minister had earlier said, “Who will gain and who will lose doesn’t matter. What is important is that it will protect the state and its indigenous people politically.”

Mass protests

Ever since the draft was released last week, it triggered protests even from indigenous communities like Tai Ahom.

“It will protect the political interest of some leaders, but not indigenous people,” alleged Basanta Gogoi, president of the Ujoni Asom Samasti Surakha Samiti (Upper Assam Constituency Protection Committee).

The Samiti will hold a mass demonstration in Sivasagar district on June 30, a protest motorcycle rally on July 4, and another mass demonstration on July 11, Gogoi added.

It will assess the situation after the first round of protests to decide the further course of action to prevent the implementation of the delimitation proposal, he said.

The samiti will also seek legal recourse.

Also read: Sarma calls Cong ‘new Mughals’; says will shut all madrasas in Assam

Bandh against draft

The minority students’ body, too, will launch a statewide agitation after Eid al-Adha on June 28, the AAMSU president said.

The union has also formed a six-member legal cell headed by a Gauhati high court advocate Mustafa Saddam Hossain.

On Tuesday (June 27), a 12-hour bandh was observed in Barak Valley in protest against the delimitation draft.

All political parties barring the BJP supported the bandh called by the Barak Democratic Front.

“The spontaneous response to the bandh call was an indication of the angst of the people towards the injustice done to the Barak Valley. We will oppose this discriminatory draft tooth and nail,” said BDF chief convenor Pradip Dutta Roy.

The Congress, AIUDF, and other opposition parties, too, have opposed the draft.

“We are currently collecting data from the ground to find out the exact demographic impact of the delimitation. But it has definitely undermined the cultural and historic diversity of Assam,” said North East Congress Coordination general secretary Diganta Choudhury.

The political affairs committee of the Assam Congress which met on Tuesday, too, took serious exception to the delimitation proposal, observing that it would create division in society.