The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) on Sunday said the Centre’s recent notification for delimitation exercise in Nagaland was not in consonance with the prevailing situation in the state.

“Things may get complicated if the exercise is followed purely on the laid down guidelines on delimitation,” the media and communication committee of the party said in a statement.

The NDPP urged the state government to urgently take up the matter with the Centre and present the unique case of the state to avoid misunderstandings and complications.

The Centre also notified that delimitation will be carried out in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

The NDPP said the 2008 delimitation exercise, based on the 2001 census, excluded the four northeastern states because of various reasons and prevailing situation.

The party said the 2001 census was questioned by various quarters in the state as there was population explosion as high as 300 per cent in many areas, over the 1991 census.

It added the tribal hohos and various civil society organisations had raised objections to the delimitation process, which eventually led to the filing of various litigations in the Supreme Court. The Centre, based on these facts and evidences submitted, suspended the exercise.

“Therefore, Nagaland was excluded because of these reasons and not because of insurgency or law and order-related situation as has been notified in the Gazette of India dated 28th February 2020,” it said.

The NDPP said proceedings with the exercise may not be conducive as the Naga talks had reached an advanced stage. It said with the likelihood of an increase in the number of seats in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha in the event of a final settlement, it will definitely be in conflict with any delimitation exercise. It said it was imperative to first hold widespread consultations with all tribal bodies, political parties, mass-based organisations, NGOs and all other stakeholders.

It said it would be futile to conduct delimitation based on a previous census when a new one will be carried out soon.