By G Krishna Mohan Rao*
Chennai: At least 15 leaders of various political parties from at least six states, including four chief ministers, opposed the population-based delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies.
The high-profile meeting in Tamil Nadu’s capital today appealed to the union government for a ‘fair delimitation’ and not to punish the states that perform on all developmental indicators. The meeting, which was chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, described it as the first meeting of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Fair Delimitation and felt that this JAC should become a “ national movement.”
During the day-long meeting, there was a mere consensus on the issue of delimitation among the political parties with leaders of various parties calling for ‘fair delimitation’ and making it clear that population alone cannot be the indicator for delimitation. Besides MK Stalin, Chief Ministers of Kerala, Telangana and Punjab—Pinrai Vijayan Communist Party Marxist), Revanth Reddy (Congress party) and Bhagwant Mann (Aam Aadmi Party) also spoke strongly in favour of ‘fair delimitation’. Karnataka was represented by its Deputy Chief Minister DK Shiv Kumar of the Congress Party. Other parties represented included the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The BRS delegation was led by its working president KT Rama Rao.
With one voice, all the leaders reiterated that they believe in cooperative federalism not coercive federalism. Hence delimitation based on population would be detrimental to South as well as other states which are successfully implemented population control measures. They appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow former prime minister late Atal Behari Vajpayee’s model on delimitation. They demanded exemption from delimitation exercise based on the population just like Union Territories and smaller states in North East, where population versus Member of Parliament proportion is not the same as that of the national average.
Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan said that the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats was hanging like the ‘Sword of Damocles’ and alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre was going ahead on the issue without any consultation. He said cooperative federalism is not just a gift but a fundamental right. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said although the number of parliamentary seats in Punjab would increase to 18 from the present 13, Punjab’s percentage in the Lok Sabha will decrease.
Telangana Chief Minister Revant Reddy spoke vehemently against the Centre’s proposed move on delimitation. He said his government in the state legislature would adopt a resolution against population-based delimitation and appealed to other states also to pass a resolution in their state assemblies against the government move. Reddy recalled that in 1976 through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, former prime minister late Indira Gandhi deferred the delimitation by 25 years. And again it was deferred by former prime minister late Vajpayee in 2001 for another 25 years. In the fitness of things, Reddy suggested for deferring the issue for another 25 years, if possible.
Reddy drew the attention of the participants to the fact that the South has 130 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 543, accounting for a political proportion of around 24 per cent. He demanded that it should have to increase to 33 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats. Anything less would reduce the South to the role of the passive audience in Indian politics. Reddy accused the BJP of “implementing a policy of demographic penalty”, detailing the progress of the South in population control when India prioritised Family Planning in 1971. South India progressed while big states in north India failed.
“The proposed delimitation exercise, based solely on population, is not just a technical adjustment; it is a political assault on the southern states… This fight is not just about numbers; it is about our identity, our culture, and our heritage.,” Karnataka’s DK Shiv Kumar stated
Other participants also expressed their opinions, while rejecting population-based delimitation, as it would lose its political voice as the north would make us secondary citizens. They criticised that States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan will dominate the rest of the country. BRS leader K T Rama Rao pointed out that 19 per cent of south India is contributing 36 per cent to the GDP. So fiscal contribution also should be a criterion. He said a state like Telangana, which has 2.8 per cent of the national population, contributes to 5.2 per cent of the national GDP.
There was also a suggestion to carry out the delimitation “taking state as a unit”. Conduct delimitation within the state, and change the bounds of the Lok Sabha seats within the state based on the latest Census. Increase the number of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe seats in the state and also provide 33 per cent reservation for women in every state. Parties also opposed the pro-rata formula being suggested by the union government on delimitation. They observed that the pro-rata formula being suggested will change the power gap and hurt politically.
Interestingly, the Tamil Nadu opposition party -led by its state president K Annamalai staged a black flag protest at the venue and slammed Chief Minister Stalin for not convening similar meetings on the Cauvery and Mullaiperiyar water-sharing disputes with Karnataka and Kerala. Since the State Assembly elections are around the corner, the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) is playing politics against the Centre, which is their old game, the State BJP chief said . Notable absentee at the meeting was the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party is a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
*Senior journalist
