Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh has written to Home Minister Amit Shah over the delimitation exercise in Manipur which is likely to happen once the moratorium ends in 2026, if it is not postponed.
Mr Singh proposed creating a new unreserved Lok Sabha seat by combining the eight unreserved assembly seats currently under the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha seat, which is a Scheduled Tribes (ST) reserved constituency.
Delimitation is done to fix the boundaries of constituencies to represent changes in population.
Anticipating a likely increase in assembly seats from the existing 60 to 70, Mr Singh in the letter to the Home Minister said all efforts should be made to ensure fair distribution and creation of reserved (SC/ST) and unreserved seats.
Mr Singh's letter comes amid the ethnic tension in Manipur between the hill-majority Kuki tribes and the valley-majority Meiteis. The Union Minister's house in the state capital Imphal, too, was vandalised and set on fire by a mob in June.
Any indication of the assembly seats rising from 60 to 70 is likely to be controversial, given the claims and counter-claims between the two communities that their population has shrunk, which could mean the community with a larger, growing population may grab the additional seats.
Mr Singh represents the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha constituency; the other MP is Lorho S Pfoze, who represents the Outer Manipur seat in the border state that sends only two MPs to the Lok Sabha.
In the letter, the Minister of State for External Affairs and Education said the comprehensive delimitation exercise for parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Manipur must be based on the latest census data, biometrics, and linked with Aadhaar for accuracy and authenticity.
He said he has informed Mr Shah that apart from relying on the latest census, a fair and unbiased approach should be taken without favouritism towards any community or ethnic group.
Mr Singh also underscored the importance of maintaining complete transparency in the delimitation process to ensure free and fair decision and conclusion.
"... The proposed recommendations would contribute to a more equitable political representation in Manipur, aligning with the great democratic principles and values of Bharat," Mr Singh said in a statement.
The Centre has decided to scrap for now the Free Movement Regime (FMR) that allows people close to the India-Myanmar border to go 16 km into each other's territory without visa.
The crisis in Manipur has been pinned on illegal immigrants from Myanmar crossing over to India over a matter of decades, and a huge network of drug traffickers fed by thousands of acres of poppy cultivation in the hills.
The Kuki tribes in the hills have strongly denied the allegations by the Meiteis, who live in the valley areas, and claimed the Meiteis dominate the state's politics and only want to grab the land of the tribes.
Over 180 have died in the violence that began on May 3 and thousands have been internally displaced. They are still living in relief camps, unable to return home - either to the valley for the Kuki tribes, or the hills for the Meiteis.
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