Bhubaneswar, Jan. 14 -- The debate over delimitation, or reorganisation of Assembly constituencies, has resurfaced in Odisha following Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi recently laying the foundation stone for the construction of a new Assembly building in Bhubaneswar.

The development has reignited questions over whether the number of Assembly seats in the State will increase, and if so, then by how much.

The last delimitation exercise in Odisha was carried out in 2007 and implemented during the 2009 General Elections. While several constituencies were restructured at that time, the total number of Assembly seats remained unchanged at 147.

Earlier, based on the 1971 Census, delimitation was conducted ahead of the 1974 elections, when t...