Gerrymandering

23 Aug 2025 GS 2 Polity

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Context: Gerrymandering in us states

Gerrymandering is the deliberate manipulation of electoral constituency boundaries by the ruling party or authority to gain an unfair political advantage.

Types of Gerrymandering:

Cracking – Diluting the voting power of the opposition’s supporters by spreading them across many districts.
Packing – Concentrating opposition voters into a few districts to reduce their influence elsewhere.
Hijacking – Redrawing boundaries to force two opposition leaders into the same constituency.
Kidnapping – Moving a strong opposition leader’s home base into a district where they have less support.

Effects:

Distorts democratic representation.
Weakens fair competition.
Leads to voter disenfranchisement.
Skews legislative outcomes in favor of the ruling party.

Gerrymandering in India

Context

Gerrymandering means deliberate manipulation of constituency boundaries for political advantage.
In India, this is largely checked because the Delimitation Commission, an independent body, handles the drawing of constituencies.
However, political debates and accusations of gerrymandering still surface, especially regarding timing, reservation of seats, and state reorganization.

Legal and Institutional Safeguards

Delimitation Commission: Constituted under Delimitation Acts (1952, 1962, 1972, 2002).
- Members include a retired Supreme Court judge, Chief Election Commissioner, and State Election Commissioners.
- Its orders have the force of law and cannot be challenged in court.
This independence prevents direct political gerrymandering.

Instances and Allegations in India

While India has safeguards, some accusations of indirect gerrymandering exist:

Reservation of Constituencies
- Delimitation decides which constituencies are reserved for SC/ST candidates.
- Allegations that politically strategic seats are picked for reservation to weaken opponents.
Timing of Delimitation
- Delimitation was frozen between 1976–2002 (during Indira Gandhi’s government, citing population control measures).
- Extended again until 2026, meaning seat allocation across states is still based on the 1971 Census.
- Southern states argue this benefits northern states (with higher population growth), amounting to a structural imbalance.
State Reorganizations
- Redrawing of state boundaries (e.g., creation of Telangana, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh) often sparks charges of political motivations in constituency demarcation.
Kashmir Delimitation (2022)
- Increase of Assembly seats from 83 to 90.
- Accusations that the redrawing disproportionately benefitted Jammu region at the expense of Kashmir Valley, favoring BJP prospects.

Consequences in Indian Democracy

Though not as rampant as in the US, structural distortions remain.
Debate over population-based representation vs equitable federalism is intensifying ahead of the 2026 delimitation exercise.
Could shift political weight further to the Hindi heartland, marginalizing southern states.

Conclusion

Direct gerrymandering is institutionally checked in India.
However, indirect political manipulation through reservation choices, delimitation freezes, and timing still has democratic consequences.
The 2026 Delimitation will be a critical test of India’s ability to balance fair representation with federal equity.

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