IMPHAL, March 25: Leaders of 16 political parties in Manipur held a significant meeting on Tuesday and urged the Central government to defer the delimitation of constituencies until 2026, when the national delimitation would be undertaken based on new census figures.
CPI-M Manipur state leader Kshetrimayum Santa, one of the three convenors of Tuesday’s meeting, revealed that the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress did not attend the gathering held at the state headquarters of the National People’s Party (NPP) at Uripok in Imphal.
“The meeting resolved that the delimitation in Manipur should not be held until the rectification of the errors in the 2001 census in Manipur. We have also decided to urge the Central government to defer the delimitation till 2026, when national delimitation would be undertaken with the new census figures,” Santa told the media after the meeting.
He added that the meeting concluded that considering the prevailing ethnic conflict in Manipur since May 3, 2023, it is not feasible to carry out delimitation at this time.
“If any delimitation exercise were undertaken in Manipur, there would be real disturbances in public order. And as such, delimitation is not possible,” the Left leader stated.
Tuesday’s meeting also resolved that all political parties in Manipur would intervene in the ongoing legal proceedings in the Supreme Court to highlight the challenges, including disturbances in public order and the prevailing conflict situation.
“Appropriate steps would be taken to carry out the order of the Supreme Court on delimitation,” Santa said.
The meeting of the 16 political parties comes after a recent directive from the Supreme Court instructing the completion of the pending delimitation exercise in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam within the next three months.
The leaders of the following 16 political parties participated in Tuesday’s meeting: AAP, BSP, CPI-M, NPP, CPI, JD-U, Naga People’s Front, RPI-A, AIFB, Trinamool Congress, NCP, NCP (SP), SP, RSP, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), and Manipur People’s Party.
The absence of the BJP and the Congress, two of the state’s major political players, was noted with concern. However, the participating parties asserted their commitment to safeguarding the state’s stability and ensuring that the delimitation process does not further aggravate the fragile situation.
The meeting concluded with a call for unity among Manipur’s political parties in resisting the delimitation exercise until the conditions in the state normalize.
Meanwhile, Manipur BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh also urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to conduct a fair, transparent, and inclusive delimitation process in the state.
