Jaipur: Rajasthan could gain 13 additional Lok Sabha seats if the long-pending delimitation exercise is carried out after the next Census, according to a working paper released this month by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).An additional 13 Lok Sabha seats would take the state’s tally from the current 25 to 38.The paper, which proposes expanding the Lok Sabha from 543 to 824 seats, identifies Rajasthan as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the move. It estimates that the state’s parliamentary representation could increase by more than 50%, giving it a stronger voice in Parliament and potentially reshaping the state’s political landscape.The study suggests dividing one parliamentary constituency into two and six others into three, based on electorate size and demographic patterns. While it does not name the constituencies, it indicates that Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Banswara and Karauli-Dholpur are among those likely to undergo reorganisation.If implemented, the exercise could trigger the biggest electoral redrawing of Rajasthan in decades.“It is not simply about increasing the number of seats. Delimitation changes the political geography of a state. Parties will have to reorganise, new leadership will emerge and existing political equations could change,” said Prof Nisar Ahmed, former head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Rajasthan.The BJP, which won 14 of the state’s 25 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 after sweeping all 25 in 2019 and 2014, is expected to benefit from the creation of more urban and semi-urban constituencies, where it has traditionally performed well.The addition of 13 LS seats, however, is likely to intensify competition within both BJP and Congress, with sitting MLAs, former MPs and larger numbers of district party members expected to stake claim to new constituencies.“More seats mean better representation for Rajasthan, but every new constituency also creates fresh political aspirations and ticket claimants,” a senior BJP member said.Congress functionaries, for their part, said the exercise must remain transparent and strictly follow constitutional principles. “Delimitation should ensure fair representation and should not become an exercise that benefits any particular party or region,” said Congress state spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi.The proposed delimitation exercise could also alter the state’s reservation matrix. Rajasthan currently has four Scheduled Caste and three Scheduled Tribe-reserved constituencies in the Lok Sabha.The paper argues that constituency sizes have become highly uneven since the freeze on delimitation based on the 1971 Census, with several parliamentary constituencies in Rajasthan now having electorates of more than 2 million.Redrawing constituency boundaries, it says, would improve voter representation.Though the EAC-PM paper is only a discussion document and not an official proposal, it has revived a larger national debate on delimitation. While southern states fear losing their share in the Lok Sabha because of slower population growth, northern states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are expected to gain seats.For Rajasthan, the implications go well beyond an increase in seat numbers. If the proposals eventually translate into a formal delimitation exercise, they could redraw the state’s electoral map, reshape caste and regional equations, and trigger a fresh political contest ahead of the next general election.
