Supporters of an ally of the ruling BJP and Opposition parties stepped up their protests against the delimitation proposals in Assam.
According to the draft proposal published by the Election Commission of India (EC), the number of Lok Sabha and Assembly in the State remain unchanged at 14 and 126. But four Assembly seats have been moved from the general to the reserved categories, and three more seats have been included in the Bodoland Territorial Council.
Some constituencies, parliamentary and Assembly, are proposed to be renamed and the boundaries of many would be redrawn allegedly to reduce the potency of Muslim voters.
While the minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) said the draft delimitation proposal reflected the BJP’s bid to polarise voters on religious and ethnic lines, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has opposed the merger of some constituencies held by its MLAs. The AGP is a minor ally of the BJP.
On Saturday, AGP supporters held a protest in Sivasagar district’s Amguri Assembly constituency represented by the party’s Prodip Hazarika.
“We will not accept the merger of Amguri with another constituency which will rob us of our identity,” a local AGP leader said.
Supporters of the AIUDF also held protests in southern Assam’s Barak Valley, demanding that the existing constituencies be untouched.
Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah said representatives of 12 Opposition parties would submit a memorandum to the EC against the delimitation exercise. A delegation of these parties, including Congress, is expected to visit New Delhi on July 7 and 8.
“A delegation of these parties is also scheduled to meet in Sivasagar on June 30 for upscaling the resistance to the delimitation move. It will then tour three Barak Valley districts on July 2 and 3,” he said.
“The BJP has ignored the sentiments of the people because it is bent upon religious polarisation,” Mr. Borah said, slamming the EC for not factoring in the historical perspectives.
