Leaders from 16 political parties in Manipur convened an important meeting on Tuesday, calling on the Central government to postpone the delimitation of constituencies until 2026, when national delimitation will occur using the new census data.
CPI-M Manipur state representative Kshetrimayum Santa, one of the three convenors of the Tuesday meeting, stated that neither the ruling BJP nor the opposition Congress participated in the meeting conducted at the National People’s Party (NPP) headquarters in Uripok, Imphal.
“The meeting resolved that the delimitation in Manipur should not be held till 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 stated that the meeting additionally concluded that, given the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur since May 3, 2023, conducting delimitation is not feasible.
“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 said.
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The meeting on Tuesday also resolved that all political parties in Manipur would engage in the current legal proceedings in the Supreme Court to emphasize issues such as public order disruptions and the ongoing conflict situation.
The gathering of 16 political parties comes after a recent order from the Supreme Court, which has mandated that the unfinished delimitation process in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam be completed within the next three months.
Sixteen political party leaders were present at the meeting on Tuesday: 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.
