J&K delimitation: What the commission has suggested and why

A controversy has broken out among political parties in Jammu and Kashmir after the Union Territory's delimitation commission suggested six new legislative seats for Jammu and only one for Kashmir.Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have criticised the move saying it tilted things in favour of Jammu.What the commission has suggestedThe commission suggested seven new assembly seats in the state, one for Kashmir Valley and six for Jammu. This will take the total seats in Jammu to 43 from 37 and in Kashmir from 46 to 47. Ladakh will continue to have four seats.According to reports, the commission has proposed the reservation of seven seats for Scheduled Castes and nine for Scheduled Tribes. It has also proposed the reservation of 24 seats for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).The Indian Express reported sources as saying that the additional assembly constituencies were suggested in Kathua, Samba, Rajouri, Reasi, Doda and Kishtwar in Jammu and Kupwara in the Valley.Why has the commission suggested more seats in Jammu?The mandate of the commission was to redraw Assembly constituency seats according to the population change as per the 2011 census.NDTV reported that the 2011 census showed Kashmir has 15 lakh more population than Jammu - 68.8 lakh vs 53.5 lakh.What is delimitation?Delimitation, according to elections officials, is the process of redrawing the limits of a constituency. Firstpost had previously published an article which said that Article 81 of the Indian Constitution says that seats in the Lok Sabha should be allocated among the different states in such a manner that, "the ratio between that number and the population of the state is, so far as practicable, the same for all States".The Indian Constitution also said that constituencies in each state should be divided "in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it is, so far as practicable, the same throughout the state".Because the population of any state or country is changing constantly, there must be a periodic review of the population and hence the allocation of seats also must be updated.The J&K Delimitation Commission is an independent body headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, and included members of the Election Commission. There are five MPs from the state that are part of the commission.Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.