Delimitation

As the next Parliament elections will be held as per the new boundaries fixed by the Delimitation Commission, it had put a question mark on the political future of number of MLAs and ministers in Kangra district.Though most of the MLAs had managed to reach in the state Assembly, in the elections held in December, but it would be very difficult for them to win the next Assembly elections on new boundaries because of the fact that number of constituencies either had been reduced or reserved in the district. Besides, many constituencies have been reorganised by the commission.Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that in the next Parliament elections to be held in 2009, the number of total Assembly constituencies will come down to 15 from 16 as the commission had abolished Thural constituency from this district. Now the Joginder Nagar Assembly segment falling in Mandi district was made a part of Kangra-Chamba parliamentary constituency. Earlier, Joginder Nagar was part of Mandi parliamentary constituency.The new boundaries marked by the commission have adversely affected the political scene in Palampur region too as Assembly segments in this region of the state have come down to four from five. Two young leaders, Ravinder Thakur, irrigation and public health minister in the Dhumal government from Thural and Sudhir Sharma, Congress MLA from Baijnath, have no Assembly segments to contest the elections to be held in 2012, as Thural the stronghold of the BJP had been abolished and Baijnath had come in the list of reserved constituencies.Both the Congress and the BJP had opposed the new boundaries fixed by the Delimitation Commission but all in vain as the Parliament had already approved it.

They pleaded that the commission should have respected the public sentiments as people of these areas were aligned with particular constituency for the past 30 years and before detaching their areas they should have been taken into confidence.