Delimitation row: Southern states will not lose seats, says Amit Shah
Mangalore Today News Network
Chennai, February 26, 2025: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that the political representation of southern states won’t be affected due to the delimitation exercise to be undertaken by the Union government. Shah, while addressing a public meeting in Coimbatore, said southern states will receive additional constituencies on a pro-rata basis when the exercise, which is due in 2026, takes place.
The Home Minister accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin of “misleading people” on the issue over which the latter has convened an all-party meeting on March 5.
“Stalin has now taken up a new issue. He is lying to the people of Tamil Nadu that the number of seats of southern states in Parliament will see a reduction post-delimitation. The Prime Minister has made it clear in Parliament that no state will lose seats due to limitation. Tamil Nadu and southern states will get additional seats on pro-rata basis,” he said.
“The Prime Minister will ensure that not even one seat is lost for any state. I take this opportunity to assure the people of South India from Coimbatore that the Union government will keep their interests in mind and ensure that they are duly represented (in Parliament),” Shah added.
Shah’s statement comes a day after the DMK dispensation in Tamil Nadu convened an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the impact of the Delimitation exercise due in 2026 on the state and draft a “joint response” in asking the BJP-led Union government to adopt a “fair and transparent approach” that upholds true federalism.
Stalin, who had in the past advocated people to have more kids at least for the sake of increased political representation, termed delimitation as a “Damocles Sword” hanging over the heads of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Telangana, which together account for 129 Lok Sabha seats.
The Southern states want the “present ratio” of Parliament and Assembly constituencies in states which were fixed based on the 1971 Census to continue till all states follow population control measures rigorously.
The “penalized” feeling isn’t related to Delimitation alone but extends to the devolution of Central taxes, which has been on the downslide in successive Finance Commissions.
With just 130 seats across the five states and Puducherry, the South already feels it isn’t able to play a role in the government formation even if it votes en bloc, and these states say it is natural for them to feel threatened over any reduction from the current representation that is already considered low.
Even if the number of Parliament seats is increased, the South is likely to get a raw deal as the number of seats for Northern states will witness an exponential increase, while their numbers will go up only marginally.
States like Tamil Nadu seem to have a valid point. For instance, the population of Bihar and Tamil Nadu was almost the same in 1971 as the states got 40 and 39 Lok Sabha seats respectively.