Until a while ago, having three children made one ineligible to contest local body elections. But now, the situation seems to be changing, courtesy, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu.
Published Jan 20, 2025 | 12:17 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 20, 2025 | 12:17 PM
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu
“One must have at least two children to be eligible to compete for local body polls,” Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu repeatedly said this on multiple occasions.
However, the question is will a new law along the same lines be introduced soon for local body elections in Andhra Pradesh? Looking at Chandrababu Naidu’s statements, the answer appears to be yes.
“A small family is a worry-free family… One child is enough, not two…”: This message was once propagated. But now, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is encouraging people to have two or more children. Until a while ago, having three children made one ineligible to contest local body elections. But now, the situation seems to be changing.
In November 2024, the TDP-led NDA government in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed two Bills scrapping the three-decade-old two-child norm for contesting local body elections.
Incidentally, the two-child norm was implemented in 1994, when Naidu was the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Amidst these discussions, one question naturally arises: What do elections have to do with children?
Compared to the Northern states, the birth rate in the Southern states is decreasing. In 2001, the population growth rate came down to 1.5 from 2.6. Andhra Pradesh emerged as the state which has the least population growth.
With delimitation ahead, when the constituencies will be reorganized based on population ratios, it appears that with the current population trend, there will be an increase in seats for North Indian states. Meanwhile, the number of seats in the South will see a decline. Consequently, political leaders believe that the North will dominate in elections.
Political leaders like Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin have previously announced their support for increasing the population rate in the South.
Now, Chandrababu seems to be thinking about implementing this by declaring that only those with two children will be eligible to contest local elections.
Along with increasing wealth and income, Chandrababu Naidu has frequently mentioned the importance of child-bearing. He also emphasised the need to focus on increasing the population growth rate as well.
Speaking about the same, a senior TDP leader told South First, “In the context of massive projects like road expansion, setting up airports, and other infrastructure to cater to future needs, without a growing population, the usage of these facilities would be questionable.”
“The government is preparing plans to develop Amaravati as an international hub, providing all amenities, and establishing educational institutions, hospitals, business centres, and other establishments. National highways and state roads are also being planned for PPP (Public-Private Partnership) construction”
“With all these efforts, if there is no population, then why do we need these facilities? This is Chandrababu Naidu’s thought process,” he further stated.
While it is believed that the population needs to grow, for the South to secure a prominent position in politics, few have also voiced concerns about the push to increase population growth rate.
The leaders have been implying, “Have children… hold positions in local bodies.” But the question arises: will people have children? For that to happen, their income sources need to increase, and employment opportunities must grow. While the government has been promising to provide jobs, in reality, this has not been happening.
For example, in the case of teacher jobs, there are only a few thousand openings, yet lakhs of people are applying. Similarly, vacancies for constables and other positions are limited, but the number of applicants is huge. Engineering graduates are also coming out in the lakhs every year, but the available jobs are limited.
Linking population growth with local elections doesn’t necessarily lead to an increase in numbers. The truth is, that without more incentives, population growth will not change. Governments must recognise this.
Meanwhile, in countries like Japan, even though the governments have announced incentives to increase population, they weren’t successful.
Furthermore, for the last 20 years, many families in Andhra Pradesh have adopted the mindset of “one child is enough”.
This mindset has gradually spread across all social groups. The question arises whether it is practically possible to suddenly change this and encourage families to have more children.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
