Jammu & Kashmir delimitation exercise begins, EC names Sushil Chandra

NEW DELHI: The Centre has finally initiated the process of setting up a Delimitation Commission for Jammu & Kashmir with the law ministry seeking nominations for the panel from the Election Commission of India and the new Union Territory.

The EC has nominated election commissioner Sushil Chandra while other nominations are still awaited.

The commission would be chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge. It is learnt that the Centre has begun shortlisting names and will notify the Delimitation Commission soon.


It is expected that the next round of elections in J&K would only be held after the delimitation process is complete – redrawing boundaries and size of constituencies – on the basis of the 2011 census.

“CEC Sunil Arora has nominated Sushil Chandra as a nominee to the proposed Delimitation Commission for J&K,” the EC spokesperson said.

While the EC held its first meeting on the proposed delimitation in August 2019 itself – days after Parliament passed the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, it surmised that a communication from the Central government was necessary to kickstart the delimitation process and even the setting up of the Delimitation Commission.

While it was widely expected that such communication or notification would be issued after October 31, 2019 – once the J&K Reorganisation Act comes into effect – the notification is still awaited. According to J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly are to increase from 107 to 114 with due reservations for SC and STs.