Part II
Legislative Assembly

3. Legislative Assembly and its composition.-

(1) The total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies shall be seventy.

(2) For the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assembly, the Capital shall be divided into single-member assembly constituencies in accordance with the provisions of Part III in such manner that the population of each of the constituencies shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the Capital.

(3) Seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the Legislative Assembly, and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats in the Assembly as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the Capital bears to the total population of the Capital and the provisions of article 334 shall apply to such reservation.

Explanation.-In this section, the expression "population" means the population as ascertained in the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published: 1[Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, be construed as a reference to the 2001 census:]

2[Provided further that any readjustment in the division of the Capital into territorial constituencies by the Delimitation Commission under the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002) on the basis of 2001 census shall take effect from such date as the Central Government may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, specify and until such readjustment takes effect, any election to the Legislative Assembly may be held on the basis of the territorial constituencies existing before such readjustment.]

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