Answer to Question #286320 in Political Science for Khushi

Question

Evaluate the social, geographical and cultural issues of your own lok sabha constituency and prepare a report card of achievements and drawbacks of members of the Parliament in the last decade.

Answer 1

The boundary alterations result in a significant shift in seat allocation across the Lok Sabha constituency. Only 68 of the current 533 seats in the country are unaffected by the Commission's proposals. The MP's seats will be significantly disrupted, and they will have to establish contacts with new areas, possibly with very different demographics and social, economic, and cultural challenges. The existing pattern would have been less disrupted if a variance of 10% (rather than 5%) around the national average constituency electorate had been allowed. However, given the current geographic distribution of support for the three major parties (Conservative, Labour, and SNP), many seats are in jeopardy and might change hands without substantial swings. Labour has traditionally benefited from differences in constituency electorates, gaining seats that are on average smaller than those won by the Conservatives. Equalizing electorates eliminates this pro-Labour edge, widening the gap between the two parties. Because of the marginality of the new seats, closing that gap will be tough. Labour might have profited marginally if the 1.8 million people who were deleted from the electoral register in late 2012 had been included, but not by enough seats to make a significant impact. The geography of party support underlying the present and expected new seats creates a more divided country electorally than before, making change on the government front benches extremely improbable without a significant shift in voter preferences.