23 districts, 117 assembly constituencies, 13 Lok Sabha seats: The A to Z of Punjab

Of the 15 nominations, one each has been filed from Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib, Faridkot and Sangrur Lok Sabha seats, Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said, adding no candidate has filed nomination papers for the Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Bathinda Lok Sabha seats.

The highest number of five nominations have been filed from Ferozepur where two candidates have filled two forms each. Three nominations have been filed from Patiala. Those who filed the nominations include six Independents.

As the election juggernaut has set rolling, The Indian Express takes a look at how the 117 Assembly segments and 23 districts of Punjab are divided among the 13 Lok Sabha Seats

A small district Muktsar has four Assembly constituencies – Muktsar, Malaut, Gidderbaha and Lambi. But these four are again divided into three Lok Sabha constituencies. While Muktsar and Malaut are part of Ferozepur parliamentary constituency, Gidderbaha falls in Faridkot Lok Sabha seat and Lambi is part of Bathinda parliamentary constituency.

Malerkotla district was formed in June 2020. It has two Assembly constituencies – Malerkotla and Amargarh. But when it comes to general elections, Malerkotla forms a part of Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency, while Amargarh comes under Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha constituency.

Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar district, also more popular as Mohali district, has three Assembly constituencies – Derabassi, SAS Nagar, and Kharar – and they form a part of two Lok Sabha constituencies. While Derabassi falls under Patiala parliamentary constituency, SAS Nagar and Kharar come under Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha seat.

Altogether Punjab has 23 districts, 117 Assembly seats and 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. Many districts form a part of multiple Lok Sabha constituencies as per the last delimitation (redrawing of boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha constituency based on last census) exercise done in 2002, although it (delimitation) became applicable only from 2009 Lok Sabha polls. This delimitation of constituencies was done on the basis of 2001 Census under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002.

Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituencies have their nine Assembly segments from a single district only, while the rest have either been spread out across two or more districts. While Khadoor Sahib LS constituency’s nine Assembly segments are spread out across four Punjab districts (Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Kapurthala, and Ferozepur), similar is the case for Anandpur Sahib (Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Rupnagar, and SAS Nagar) and Faridkot (Faridkot, Moga, Bathinda, and Muktsar).

The Assembly segments falling under Bathinda parliamentary constituency have been spread out across three districts (Bathinda, Mansa, and Muktsar), so is the case of Hoshiarpur (Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, and Gurdaspur), Fatehgarh Sahib (Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, and Malerkotla), Sangrur (Sangrur, Malerkotla, and Barnala), and Ferozepur (Ferozepur, Fazilka, and Muktsar).

In 2004, each parliamentary constituency in Punjab had nine Assembly segments, but the Assembly constituencies were subsequently restructured in many districts based on population, area and other parameters.

Interestingly, Khadoor Sahib and Anandpur Sahib are the two Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab which are not districts per se and so they haven’t been named after any districts, unlike the other parliamentary constituencies in the state.

Khadoor Sahib is an Assembly constituency in Tarn Taran district of Punjab. This Lok Sabha constituency has nine Assembly segments which are Tarn Taran, Khadoor Sahib, Patti, Khemkaran (all in Tarn Taran district), Baba Bakala, Jandiala (in Amritsar district), Kapurthala, Sultanpur Lodhi (in Kapurthala district), and Zira (in Ferozepur district). So, this Lok Sabha constituency is spread out across four districts of Punjab.

In 2004, the total number of Lok Sabha constituencies was 13, but three parliamentary constituencies Tarn Taran, Phillaur, and Ropar were replaced by Khadoor Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Anandpur Sahib, respectively, in 2009 general elections.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh Sudan said, “We are rather at an advantage as our district has literally three MPs (from Bathinda, Faridkot, and Ferozepur), so there are more resources for various development works in each constituency.”

Lambi Assembly segment falls in Muktsar district, but it forms a part of Bathinda parliamentary constituency. Similarly, Gidderbaha Assembly segment comes under Muktsar district, but it forms a part of Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency (SC). Also, two Assembly segments – Muktsar and Malaut – fall under Muktsar district, but they form a part of Ferozepur parliamentary constituency.

Patiala Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray said, “Normally, an MP operates through one deputy commissioner when it comes to transfer of funds from one Assembly constituency to another. But when more than one district is part of a Lok Sabha constituency, for instance, take the case of Patiala parliamentary seat wherein SAS Nagar district is also involved because Derabassi Assembly segment (in SAS Nagar district) forms a part of Patiala Lok Sabha constituency – in such a scenario the fund transfer is done from our DC office to another based on the work which has been sanctioned in that area (as per the recommendation of the MP concerned). Otherwise, there are not any major administrative issues because of multiple districts forming a part of one Lok Sabha seat.”