EAC-PM recommends targeted splitting of seats for delimitation, shows model allowing 50% rise for all large States

The core issue revolves around delimitation—the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and State Assembly constituencies to represent changes in population. Under Article 82, Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every census. However, the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 froze the number of seats based on the 1971 Census to encourage population control, a freeze further extended to the first census post-2026 by the 84th Amendment Act, 2001. The EAC-PM's proposal of expanding the Lok Sabha to 824 seats while retaining the existing proportion of seats-per-State is crucial. It attempts to balance democratic representation (one person, one vote) with federal equity, ensuring states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala aren't penalized for successful population control measures compared to northern states like Uttar Pradesh. This is highly relevant for UPSC Mains regarding the tension between demographic shifts and federal representation.

The EAC-PM working paper introduces a novel, multi-factor approach to delimitation, moving beyond mere population size to consider five 'compositional features': urban share, SC/ST share, linguistic polarisation, and linguistic diversity. This reflects a nuanced understanding of electoral dynamics, aiming to maximize voter turnout. The recommendation to focus on the 'joint demographic and linguistic profile' for splitting constituencies suggests a departure from traditional, purely geographical delimitation. Furthermore, the targeted interventions suggested, such as women-only polling booths and evening hours for urban women, highlight the importance of inclusive governance and addressing structural barriers to political participation. The Election Commission of India (ECI) might need to adopt these data-driven approaches for future exercises.

A significant finding of the EAC-PM study relates to the socio-demographic factors influencing voter turnout, particularly the urban-rural divide and gender disparities. The paper notes that urban share is the 'single largest compositional feature' associated with lower women's turnout, highlighting that women in fully urban constituencies vote at approximately 5 percentage points lower than rural women. This points to unique challenges faced by urban female voters, possibly related to work schedules or mobility, which need to be addressed through targeted electoral reforms. The recommendation to time the delimitation with a 'fresh booth rationalising cycle' and utilize 'gender-disaggregated electoral statistics' underscores the need for data-backed social interventions to ensure equitable political participation across all demographics.