Bhupen Goswami 

 Guwahati: On the last day of 2022, the Assam Cabinet has taken an important tough decision in view of the process of restructuring the boundaries of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. It has been decided to eliminate a total of four districts of the state – Biswanath, Hojai, Bajali and Tamulpur. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has apologised to the people of the state.

“Had it not been very necessary, such a decision would not have been taken. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Cabinet has approved the merger of four districts in the interest of the state. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi. According to Sarma’s announcement, Hojai will be merged into Nagaon district, Tamulpur under Baksa district, Bajali into Barpeta district, and Biswanath district into Sonitpur district. He, however, expressed hope that the people of Assam would accept the administrative decision in the interest of the future of the state. However, following a request from the Law Ministry on November 15 in Assam, a controversy has erupted over the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to initiate delimitation of state assembly and parliamentary constituencies based on the 2001 census.

Opposition parties have accused the government of trying to manipulate the delimitation of Muslim-dominated seats in accordance with its own interests by not basing the 2011 census so that the BJP can take advantage of it. Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Debabrata Saikia said, “When the 2011 census data is available, why is the government using the 2001 census data?” In Assam, the last delimitation of constituencies was done in 1976 on the basis of the 1971 census. AIUDF leader and MLA in the assembly Aminul Islam also raises this question. “When seats are to increase in 2026 and the process of 2021 census begins, how far is it appropriate to make the census of twenty years ago the basis of delimitation? He says that this clearly means that the master plan of the BJP government is something else for which this delimitation is being started. Their intention seems to be only to manipulate the population of Muslim-dominated seats. Strongly opposing the decision to abolish four districts of Assam, Asom Jatiya Parishad President Lurinjyoti Gogoi and General Secretary Jagdish Bhuiyan said in a statement that the BJP government in Assam has cheated the people of the districts with this decision.