Bhubaneswar, Jan 12 (PTI) Odisha is likely to get more Assembly and Lok Sabha seats after the next delimitation exercise, expected to be carried out after the 2027 census, sources said.
Chief Minister Mohan
Charan Majhi on Monday indicated the possibility while laying the foundation stone for a new Assembly building here.
While justifying the requirement to construct a new Assembly building, Majhi said, “Today, we have 147 MLAs, which could increase after delimitation. I am not sure, but after delimitation, the number of MLAs could be 200. Therefore, we have to construct a new Assembly building keeping in view the next 50/100 years.” Currently, the legislative Assembly has 147 members and 21 Lok Sabha seats from the state in accordance with the 1971 census data, which was based on a population of 2.20 crore.
After the delimitation exercise of 1973, the number of Assembly seats rose from 140 to 147, and Lok Sabha seats increased from 20 to 21, official records show.
As Odisha’s population has been doubled since the 1971 census and estimated to be above 4.5 crore now, the number of seats both for the Assembly and the Lok Sabha could increase to 197 and 28, a senior official in the census directorate said.
Official records said that delimitation exercises were carried out in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2007-08.
“Though there was no increase in the number of seats in Assembly and Lok Sabha in Odisha after 2007-08 delimitation, the geographical boundaries of several assembly segments were changed,” the official said.
The previous census scheduled to be carried out in 2021 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The exercise in the state is scheduled to start in April. PTI AAM AAM MNB
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