Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on March 5 led a meeting with state parties, including the AIADMK, and unanimously rejected the Parliamentary constituency delimitation process expected to take place in 2026.
During the meeting, Stalin presented a resolution urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that any future delimitation is based on the 1971 population figures and remains in effect for the next 30 years. The resolution also called for a constitutional amendment to guarantee proportional representation for all states if the number of MPs were to be increased.
However, five smaller opposition parties, including the BJP and its local ally, the Tamil Manila Congress (M), chose not to attend. Both the BJP and TMC (M) dismissed the meeting as an attempt to divert attention from what they claim is a worsening law and order situation in the state. Actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam was among those who participated.
Resolution On Delimitation
The resolution further sought guarantees that any increase in the total number of MPs would be proportionally distributed among the states, according to the 1971 census, ensuring that Tamil Nadu is not penalized for successfully managing its population growth since then.
"In 2000, then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee assured that delimitation would be based on the 1971 census. Similarly, Prime Minister Modi should give the assurance that this principle will be followed from 2026 for the next 30 years," the resolution stated.
"Tamil Nadu is not against delimitation. However, this meeting requests that delimitation shouldn't be a punishment to a state that has implemented various social welfare schemes..."
The resolution also set out plans for a joint action committee - to be formed by MPs from Tamil Nadu and other southern states, which have also expressed concerns about delimitation - to "create awareness among the people about this issue".
Fight On Delimitation
The DMK has raised red flags over the proposed delimitation, which is redrawing boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies to reflect population changes over time.
Conversely, northern states that have not controlled population as well, will get an outsized say in Parliament. For example, Tamil Nadu now has 39 Lok Sabha seats or 7.2 per cent of the total seats. Population-based delimitation will potentially reduce this share because the state will get fewer overall seats.
Home Minister Amit Shah recently assured Tamil Nadu and the other southern states that they would not lose out on seats and would, in fact, get more seats. But Stalin has pointed out this does not mean seats won't be increased for northern states, which is the other half of the problem as he sees it.
