NEW DELHI: Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday said delimitation is a “constitutional mandate” and asserted that the exercise must be carried out after 2026, as provided under the Constitution.Speaking in ANI , Meghwal criticised the Opposition over its objections to delimitation, saying that while opposition leaders “carry the Constitution around with them”, they do not read its provisions.“Delimitation is a constitutional mandate. They certainly carry the Constitution around with them, but they don't actually read what is written in it,” Meghwal said.

He said the Constitution provides for the freezing of Lok Sabha seats until 2026, after which delimitation must take place.“Seats are to remain frozen until 2026, after which delimitation must take place. Since it is written there, it has to be done,” the Union minister said.The concerns are particularly among southern states, that a population-based redistribution could reduce their relative representation.

What is delimitation?

Delimitation is the process of redrawing the boundaries of Lok Sabha and state assembly constituencies based on population.

Under Article 82 of the Constitution, the exercise is to be carried out after every census.The aim is to ensure that constituencies have broadly similar population sizes, although their geographical areas can vary significantly. Each state is allocated a certain number of seats in Parliament and its assembly based on the population figures used for delimitation.

Why were Lok Sabha seats frozen?

India carried out delimitation exercises in 1952, 1962 and 1972.

However, the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976 froze the number of Lok Sabha seats based on the 1971 Census, in part to ensure that states that had successfully implemented population-control measures were not penalised with fewer parliamentary seats.The 84th Constitutional Amendment in 2001 extended the freeze on the allocation of seats among states until after 2026.A delimitation exercise was undertaken in 2008, but it used the 1971 Census to retain the existing distribution of Lok Sabha seats among states. It primarily involved redrawing constituency boundaries.