Delimitation in India
Constitutional and Statutory Framework
Delimitation refers to the process of redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies and fixing the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It is carried out by the Delimitation Commission, a statutory body constituted under the Delimitation Commission Act, 2002. The last delimitation for Lok Sabha constituencies based on the 2001 Census was completed in 2008. Since then, seat numbers have been frozen under the 84th Constitutional Amendment (2001), which extended the freeze until after the first census post-2026.
- Delimitation is constitutionally mandatory before implementing the Women's Reservation Act.
- The exercise is quasi-judicial — the Delimitation Commission's orders are final and cannot be questioned in any court.
- Previous delimitations in 1973 and 2008 caused political tensions in southern states, which fear seat reduction due to lower population growth relative to northern states.
- Census 2027 results, once published, will trigger the delimitation process, but the exercise itself takes years to complete.
● Tracked since March 10, 2026 · last seen April 17, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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