Congress Accuses BJP of Using Women's Quota as Cover for Gerrymandering Ahead of 2029 Polls
In a sharp political attack, Congress leaders have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the women's reservation issue as a cover to push through delimitation that would strengthen its position for the 2029 general elections. Senior Congress speakers Gaurav Gogoi and K C Venugopal launched a scathing critique, alleging the Modi government is "bulldozing" the redrawing of electoral boundaries for political gain.
Immediate Implementation Demanded Without Census or Delimitation
The Congress party has directly challenged the government to implement the women's quota immediately in the current Lok Sabha, which has 543 seats. They oppose the proposal to increase Lok Sabha strength to 850 seats, arguing it should be done without waiting for a new census or delimitation exercise.
K C Venugopal stated emphatically, "You are using women's quota to destroy democracy... Your intention is whatever happens to the nation, we have to win the election." He also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for joking about the black shirts worn by protesting Tamil Nadu and Kerala MPs, saying the PM did not "understand the sentiments of the two states."
Allegations of Gerrymandering and Political Exploitation
Gaurav Gogoi drew parallels with American political tactics, accusing the BJP of using delimitation like "gerrymandering" in the United States, where electoral boundaries are redrawn for political advantage. He cited specific examples of what he called manipulation in Jammu & Kashmir and Assam.
"What was done in Assam and J&K, government wants to do it in the entire country. How shameful and sad. This is how you are misusing women in the name of quota," Gogoi remarked.
Historical Context and Previous Legislation
Gogoi pointed out that the BJP government was presenting the women's quota as if it were a new initiative, when in fact the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam was passed in 2023 with unanimous support. He criticized the government for deliberately linking the quota implementation to Census 2027 and delimitation, ignoring Sonia Gandhi's demand that it be implemented starting with the 2024 elections.
The Congress leaders emphasized that fundamental principles of electoral boundary drawing were being bypassed, including:
- Geographical contiguity requirements
- Uniformity of constituency size
- Proper use of census data
They alleged the delimitation commission and Election Commission had been deployed strategically in J&K and Assam using outdated census data to redesign seats for political benefit.
