PALAMPUR : The recent decision of union government that the next parliament elections will be held as per new boundaries fixed by the Delimitation Commission had put question mark on the political future of number of MLAs and Ministers from this district.
Though most of MLAs had managed to reach in the state assembly in the elections held last month 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 or reorganized by the commission.
Information gathered by myHimachal News revealed that in the next parliament elections to be held in 2009, the number of total assembly constituencies will come down to fifteen from sixteen as the Commission had abolished the 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 constitutency.
A disturbing situation has come up here as all the sitting MLAs and Ministers were well conversant with the situation that certain panchyats would not be part of their constituencies in the next assembly elections to be held in 2012. In the present political scenario they might not devote much attention to these areas, adversely affecting their development. The voters of these constituencies had already expressed their apprehensions to this effect.
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 of BJP and congress, Mr. Ravinder Thakur, Irrigation and Public Health minister in Dhumal government from Thural and Mr. Sudhir Sharma congress MLA from Baijnath, now will have to search new segments to contest the asembly elections to be held in 2012 as Thural the stronghold of BJP had been abolished and Baijnath had come in the list of reserved constituencies .
Meanwhile both congress and BJP had openly opposed the new boundaries fixed by Delimitation Commission. In different press statements issued here today these leaders said that great injustice was done with Palampur region of the state by reducing the number of assembly segments to four from five.
They said commission should have respected the public sentiments as the people of these areas were aligned with particular constituency for the past thirty years and before detaching their areas they should have been taken into confidence.
A senior journalist from Palampur.
