Rajasthan redraws Barmer-Balotra borders, triggers political row | India News
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JAISALMER/JAIPUR: In a controversial move, the Rajasthan govt has overnight redrawn the boundaries of the Barmer and Balotra districts, prompting significant administrative shifts and igniting political row over the timing and intent. A revenue department notification dated December 31, which surfaced publicly on the night of January 2, has altered sub-divisions and shifted thousands of voters in a region bordering Pakistan. Under the revised boundaries, the Baytoo sub-division has been transferred from Balotra back to Barmer, while Barmer’s Gudamalani and Dhorimana sub-divisions have been reassigned to Balotra. Following this reorganization, Balotra district now consists of five sub-divisions-Balotra, Sindhari, Siwana, Dhorimana, and Gudamalani-along with nine tehsils and five sub-tehsils. In contrast, Barmer will now include seven sub-divisions-Barmer, Gadra Road, Chohtan, Ramsar, Baytoo, Sedwa, and Sheo-along with eleven tehsils and seven sub-tehsils. The move has drawn attention because it comes just as administrative boundaries have been frozen from Jan 1 due to the Census process, with restrictions continuing until May 2027. Critics allege the govt acted just before the freeze to make the order harder to reverse and to shield it under census-related rules, also linking the reorganisation to future delimitation and electoral calculations. Balotra was carved out of Barmer as a separate district on August 7, 2023, by the previous Congress-led govt. The current BJP-led govt says the latest changes follow fresh recommendations of the Panwar committee, a high-level panel set up to review the 17 new districts and three new divisions created earlier. A revenue department official denied political pressure behind the decision. The notification went viral Friday night, with some initially claiming it appeared edited, before political reactions poured in from both sides. BJP workers celebrated the decision, while Congress members protested and called it anti-people and politically motivated. The boundary shift is expected to affect around 2.5 lakh voters across the impacted tehsils and could reshape local political equations. In Baytoo assembly constituency-Baytoo, Patodi and Gida tehsils-earlier all three were in Balotra; now Baytoo has moved to Barmer while Patodi and Gida remain in Balotra. In Gudamalani assembly-Gudamalani, Dhorimana and Nokhda tehsils-Gudamalani and Dhorimana have moved to Balotra while Nokhda remains with Barmer. Congress MLA Harish Chaudhary, who contests from Baytoo, alleged the tehsils were broken for political purposes and posted a poetic comment on X: “Send me here or send me there. Playing with maps, send me wherever you want. I won’t fear or bow to the changing borders. I stand with my people, send me wherever you want.” Barmer MP Ummeda Ram Beniwal termed the decision a “Tughlaq-like decree,” while former minister Hemaram Chaudhary questioned the practicality of shifting Dhorimana and parts of Gudamalani, saying the changes do not match ground realities or public convenience. He said a peaceful protest is underway in Dhorimana against the state govt’s decision on the Dhorimana and Gudamalani sub-divisions.
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