North East India Citizens Forum seeks increased parliamentary seats

The North East India Citizens Forum (NEICFD) has called on the Chief Ministers of the eight Northeastern states to form a united front to protect the region’s political interests during upcoming delimitation exercises. The forum argues that parliamentary representation should not be determined solely by population figures.

Instead, the NEICFD proposes that the central government consider factors such as strategic international borders, difficult terrain, tribal and indigenous communities, cultural diversity, and national security. To prevent political marginalisation, the forum suggests that every Northeastern state except Assam be guaranteed between five and seven Lok Sabha seats and two to three Rajya Sabha seats, regardless of population.

For Assam, the group is seeking an increase to 21 Lok Sabha seats and 11 Rajya Sabha seats. The NEICFD has urged state governments to convene special legislative assembly sessions to pass unanimous resolutions seeking these constitutional safeguards to ensure equitable representation and strengthen the federal character of the country.