The Election Commission of India (ECI) on July 20 held meetings in Guwahati to hear suggestions and objections from national and state political parties in view of draft delimitation proposal.
ECI Holds Public Sittings In Guwahati
Notably, the ECI panel is comprised of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners, Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel. The panel held meetings with representatives of political parties during the second day of the three-day series of public sittings.
Representatives from national parties such as Aam Aadmi Party, Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Bharatiya Janata Party along with state parties like All India United Democratic Front, Asom Gana Parishad, United Peoples Party Liberal and Bodoland People’s Front shared their feedback with the Commission. Meanwhile, Opposition Congress and AIUDF have requested the ECI panel to halt the process until the Supreme Court of India takes a decision on two pending cases on the matter.
“The situation is no different now to the one back in 2008 when the delimitation was stopped owing to the prevailing situation at that time. Moreover, two cases are pending at the Supreme Court, which has fixed July 25 for the next hearing,” Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Kumar Borah said.
Suggestions on the draft for Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Karimganj, Darrang, Hailakandi, Cachar, South Salmara, Nagaon, Morigaon and Dhubri districts were heard on July 20. The panel will hear the representatives from Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Golaghat and Majuli districts on the concluding day.
