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COVER STORY MARCH 21, 2025 | The Indian Eye 4

DELIMITATION OF SEATS

NORTH VS

SOUTH?

Amid fears that the delimitation exercise will reduce the number of seats of

southern states in the Parliament, all parties from the South take a collective
stand. How this move could alter politics in India after 2026?

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi/Chennai/Hyderabad
ome Minister Amit Shah
assured southern states last
Hweek that they wouldn’t lose
“even a single seat” after the fresh
delimitation of constituencies. It was
an attempt to address concerns, es-
pecially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala,
about the potential loss of parliamen-
tary representation if the exercise is
based only on population data.

The 2021 Census, which was
delayed by the Covid-19 pan-

demic, is expected to begin this
year, and will be followed by the
delimitation of constituencies.
The Constitution (Eighty-Fourth

Amendment) Act, 2002 froze
existing constituency boundar-
ies until “the first Census taken Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin called for a united political front against the proposed delimitation exercise (ANI)
after the year 2026”. completion of each census, the allo- Democratic Alliance (NDA) ruling March 22.
cation of seats in the House of the states and otherwise, to join him in In his letter to other CMs, Stalin
The delimitation of constitu- People to the States and the division the “fight against this unfair exer- pointed out that the previous delim-
encies represents the constitutional of each State into territorial constit- cise.” itation exercises were conducted in
commitment to a fair and represen- uencies shall be readjusted by such He has written to Kerala CM 1952, 1963, and 1973, but they were
tative electoral framework and the authority and in such manner as Par- Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana CM Re- frozen by the 42nd Amendment in
equitable representation of citizens liament may by law determine”. vanth Reddy, Andhra Pradesh CM 1976 until the first census after 2000.
in elected bodies. The number of But Tamil Nadu Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal The freeze was extended in 2002
constituencies in Parliament and MK Stalin called for a united politi- CM Mamata Banerjee, Odisha CM until the census after 2026. However,
state Assemblies is adjusted accord- cal front against the proposed delimi- Mohan Charan Majhi, and heads of with the 2021 Census delayed, the
ing to the latest population figures tation exercise, urging various parties all political parties in those respec- delimitation process might happen
to ensure that the number of Indians to join forces in opposing what he tive states to join him. Congress has earlier than expected, potentially
represented by an MP/ MLA remains termed a “blatant assault on feder- backed CM Stalin’s stance on delimi- affecting states that have controlled
roughly the same. alism.” On March 8, Chief Minister tation. However, the party has not yet their population and achieved better
Article 82 (“Readjustment after Stalin wrote to the Chief Ministers confirmed whether they will join the governance.
each census”) says that “Upon the of seven states, both from National Joint Action Committee meeting on Continued on next page... >>

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