Fixing Electoral Boundaries in India

Description

Did you know that the latest delimitation of electoral constituencies in India was carried out after a hiatus of three decades? And that the next delimitation will be held after another three decades?

What is an electoral constituency? How are its boundaries fixed? What is delimitation? Why is periodic delimitation of electoral constituencies necessary? What are the philosophical and legal underpinnings of delimiting constituencies? How do constituencies get reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes?

This volume addresses these and other relevant questions that lie at the heart of delimitation of electoral boundaries and have important implications for political representation. Written by some of the leading specialists and experts on the subject of delimitation, the essays discuss how the exercise of delimitation of electoral constituencies is as integral to political representation as political representation is to democracy.

Far from being a techno-bureaucratic exercise, apportioning electoral divisions involves philosophical, political, legal, and practical implications. The essays explain how the process of drawing and redrawing of lines on the electoral map involves contending interests of political parties, of individual politicians, and of spatially and culturally embedded groups.

About the author

Edited by Mohd. Sanjeer Alam, Assistant Professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, and Late K.C. Sivaramakrishnan, Was Chairman and Research Professor at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi

Mohd. Sanjeer Alam is Assistant Professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi.

K. C. Sivaramakrishnan was Chairman and Research Professor at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.

Table of contents

List of Tables and Figures
Preface
Introduction (Mohd. Sanjeer Alam and K.C. Sivaramakrishnan)
Chapter 1 The Concept of Constituency (Andrew Rehfeld)
Chapter 3 Delimitation in India: A Politico-historical Overview (K.C. Sivaramakrishnan)
Chapter 4 One Person, One Vote, Different Values: Comparing Delimitation Practices in India, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Lisa Handley)
Chapter 5 Fourth Delimitation of Electoral Constituencies: A Critical Assessment (Sanjay Kumar)
Chapter 6 Identity, Identification, and Political Representation: The Missing Scheduled Tribes in Uttar Pradesh (A.K. Verma)
Chapter 7 Selection of Reserved Seats: Laws, Procedures, Practices, and Implications for Equality of Political Opportunity (Mohd. Sanjeer Alam)
Chapter 8 Delimitation and Political (Under) representation of Minorities: The Case of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh (Mirza Asmer Beg)
Chapter 9 Incumbency in Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Assessing the Impact of Delimitation (Ajit Karnik and Mala Lalvani)
Chapter 10 Delimiting Boundaries of the Third Tier of Democracy: A Note (Bhanu Joshi)
Chapter 11 Socio-economic Profiles for India's Old Electoral Constituencies, 1971 and 2001 (Rikhil R. Bhavnani and Francesca Refsum Jensenius)
Chapter 12 Matching Census Tracts and Electoral Boundaries: The Bottom-up Aggregation Approach (Mohd. Sanjeer Alam)
Bibliography
Index
About the Editors and Contributors