VIJAYAWADA: The Centre on Wednesday made it clear that the number of Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana cannot be increased till the publishing of the Census, which will be done after 2026. This was informed by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in the Rajya Sabha while responding to a question raised by BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao.
The MP sought to know whether there is a provision in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 with regard to increasing the number of assembly constituencies of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He also wanted to know the action taken by the Centre to increase the number of assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh to 225 and in Telangana to 153.
Nityanand Rai replied that Section 26(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, inter-alia states that subject to the provisions contained in Article 170 of the Constitution and without prejudice to section 15 of this Act, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the successor States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana shall be increased from 175 and 119 to 225 and 153, respectively.
On the justification to link routine delimitation exercise planned after 2026 in other States with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act has special provisions for it in Section 26, the union minister said as per article 170(3) of the Constitution, the total number of seats in the Assembly of each State shall not be readjusted till the publication of the first Census after 2026. “Therefore, unless and until Article 170 of the Constitution is amended in line with Section 265 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the number of seats cannot be increased,’’ he said.