Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma may not contest poll from Jalukbari in 2026

If the draft proposal for delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies for Assam published by the Election Commission of India on June 20 is acted upon without any amends, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will lose two massive blocks under his constituency Jalukbari—Sualkuchi and Bezera. The new demarcation of the geographical boundary of his constituency will ensure that he will have to face 70 per cent new voters. 

On the day the draft was released, Sarma tweeted saying that he was saddened by the fact that his constituency Jalukbari, which he had been representing since 2001, would be divided into three parts. The chief minister though welcomed the Election Commission’s decision as it “truly reflected the sentiments of the people of Assam.” 

Sualkuchi block will now be with Hajo constituency and Bezera with Kamalpur. The newly demarcated Jalukbari, however, retains the Pandu area, one of Sarma’s stronghold, while some newer areas have been added to the constituency. If this delimitation draft is accepted without any amends, Sarma may reconsider contesting from Jalukabri again. Though he has not made any official statement, speculation is rife that 2026 assembly elections may see him as candidate from a different constituency. 

In the proposed delimitation draft, number of seats in the Legislative Assembly and in the Lok Sabha from Assam has been retained as 126 and 14 respectively. However, several new constituencies have been carved out while some existing ones have been merged with others, keeping in mind the changed demography. 

The ECI has proposed to increase the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes in the assembly from 16 to 19 and from 8 to 9 respectively. It has also recommended increasing the number of assembly seats by one in West Karbi Anglong's autonomous districts and three in Bodoland's autonomous council areas (from 16 to 19).

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel are slated to visit Assam in July for a public hearing on the draft proposal. The delimitation exercise was carried out on the basis of 2001 census. The last delimitation was done in Assam in 1976. The poll panel developed the guidelines and method in accordance with the constitutional and legal provisions as well as the representations received in an effort to make the delimitation exercise fair and equitable.

Earlier, between March 26 and March 28, ECI members visited Assam and discussed the state's delimitation process with political parties, public representatives, members of civil society, members of social organizations, members of the public, and state officers like the chief electoral officer, deputy commissioners of all districts, and district election officers. Representations of 11 political parties and 71 other organizations were received and evaluated.

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