Fixing Electoral Boundaries in India (Hardback)  | Released: 29 Dec 2015

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: 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 2 Drawing Electoral Boundaries in India: Institutions and Laws Suvrajyoti Gupta 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 Indias 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