Politics in Jharkhand has heated up over the issue of delimitation (redrawing of constituencies) with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress alleging that after delimitation, the number of reserved tribal seats may decrease, weakening the political representation of tribal communities.
The parties claim that the BJP-led Central government is carrying out the process to harm tribal interests. However, dismissing these allegations as misleading, the BJP assured that the tribal seats won’t be reduced. In fact, they suggest that there would be an increase in the seats. With the controversy of the delimitation growing, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has started working on a strategy to clear doubts among tribal communities.
The JMM is raising this issue aggressively. Former Chief Minister Hemant Soren is also expected to discuss the matter in a meeting proposed by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. The JMM and Congress accuse the BJP of using delimitation as a tool to weaken tribal political power, just like they did earlier with the CNT Act and Sarna Code controversies. JMM leaders claim that if the number of reserved seats are reduced, it would disturb the political balance in Jharkhand, directly affecting tribal leadership.
Currently, Jharkhand has five Lok Sabha (Parliamentary) and 28 Assembly seats reserved for tribal candidates. The Opposition parties argue that reducing these seats will directly benefit the BJP since tribal-dominated areas are strongholds of the JMM and Congress. In the last elections, the JMM-Congress alliance won all five tribal Lok Sabha seats and 27 of the 28 tribal Assembly seats. The Opposition alleges that the BJP was using delimitation as a strategy to change these political equations.
Responding to these accusations, BJP state president Babulal Marandi said that the Opposition is spreading false propaganda. He assured that tribal rights in Jharkhand would remain fully protected and that delimitation will not reduce the number of tribal seats. BJP leaders also accused the JMM-Congress government of ignoring the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration, which they claim is harming the cultural and social identity of the tribal community.
To strengthen BJP’s stance, the RSS has increased its activity. Senior RSS officials have begun discussions with regional leaders and tribal communities. Their goal is to counter opposition “propaganda” and inform tribal people about the actual situation.
As per the Constitution, the delimitation process is scheduled for 2026, during which new boundaries for Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies will be decided based on population. However, there is no official decision yet on whether the number of tribal reserved seats will change. Still, given the strategies of BJP and the Opposition, it is clear that this issue will remain a major political debate in Jharkhand in the coming days.