Chief Minister MK Stalin noted that Tamil Nadu and other Southern states will lose fair representation in the Parliament if the delimitation is enforced based on the 2026 Census.
Published Mar 05, 2025 | 12:28 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 05, 2025 | 1:49 PM
MK Stalin speaking at the all-party meeting on delimitation.
Synopsis: An all-party meeting held by the Tamil Nadu government stated that constituency delimitation should be based on the 1971 population figures. The meeting opposed the parliamentary constituency delimitation based on current population figures and said it threatens India’s federal structure and the political representation rights of Tamil Nadu and other Southern states. They proposed a fixed number of representatives, similar to the House of Representatives in the United States.
An all-party meeting held by the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday, 5 March, urged the Union government to uphold the commitment made in 2001 by the then-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which stated that constituency delimitation should be based on the 1971 population figures.
“According to the assurance given by the then-prime minister in 2001, the parliamentary constituencies were to be determined based on the 1971 census. In line with this, the Prime Minister must give a statement in Parliament to extend this arrangement for another 30 years beyond 2026,” Chief Minister MK Stalin said.
The meeting opposed the parliamentary constituency delimitation based on current population figures and said it threatens India’s federal structure and the political representation rights of Tamil Nadu and other Southern states.
Stalin noted that Tamil Nadu and other Southern states will lose fair representation in the Parliament if the delimitation is enforced based on the 2026 Census.
Parties, including the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) proposed a fixed number of representatives, similar to the House of Representatives in the United States.
The TVK demanded that the 1971 Census-based constituency allocation be extended indefinitely, similar to how the United States permanently fixed its House of Representatives at 435 members.
In the meeting, it was said that if the total number of parliamentary seats was increased, then the proportion of seats among states should be maintained as per the ratio that existed in both Houses of Parliament based on the 1971 census.
“Currently, a single state (Uttar Pradesh) alone has 80 MPs, making it politically dominant. Any further increase in the number of constituencies for states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — at the cost of reducing seats for Tamil Nadu and other Southern states — is unacceptable,” TVK said.
“Southern states, including Tamil Nadu, have successfully implemented population control measures. As a result, the number of parliamentary constituencies allotted to us has remained comparatively lower. It is projected that Tamil Nadu could lose as many as eight constituencies due to this exercise,” Stalin said.
“If the total number of parliamentary seats is increased to 843 and constituencies are reorganised proportionally, Tamil Nadu should ideally gain an additional 22 seats. However, if the process is based solely on current population figures, we will only receive 10 extra seats, effectively losing out on 12 seats that we rightfully deserve. Meanwhile, states with higher population growth will gain more seats.”
“If such a delimitation process is enforced, Tamil Nadu’s voice will be suppressed. Even with 39 MPs, our concerns often go unheard by the Union government. In this critical juncture, we must strongly oppose any political restructuring based solely on population figures,” he added.
VCK Chairman Thol Thirumavalavan said: “Similar to the system in the United States, all states in India should be allotted an equal number of representatives to ensure balanced federal representation.”
The meeting demanded a Constitutional amendment to ensure a fair increase in the number of seats for Tamil Nadu and other Southern states.
The meeting also decided to form a Joint Action Committee comprising representatives of parties with MPs from Tamil Nadu and other Southern states, who would be formally invited to coordinate efforts against the delimitation process.
“Tamil Nadu does not oppose constituency delimitation in principle. However, we strongly emphasise that political restructuring should not be used as a means to penalise states that have successfully implemented socio-economic reforms for the past 50 years,” Stalin said after the meeting.
Meanwhile, TVK said that the Union government has not given any clear explanation or assurance to the states regarding how the restructuring would be carried out.
“If delimitation is carried out purely based on updated census data or if population becomes the primary factor, South Indian states risk losing significant parliamentary representation,” the party said in a press release.
“Article 81 of our Constitution states that each Member of Parliament (MP) must represent an equal number of people as much as possible. This principle is based on one vote, one value. However, in a diverse federal country like India, ensuring equal representation for all states is equally crucial. The challenge lies in balancing these two democratic principles without disproportionately harming one over the other.”
“For the past 50 years, Tamil Nadu and other southern states have successfully controlled their population growth by investing in education, healthcare, and family planning. Penalising these states by reducing their parliamentary representation would be highly unjust,” it added.
It said that instead of blindly increasing the number of MPs, the focus should be strengthening democratic institutions, ensuring fair representation, and addressing real governance issues.
“The only acceptable solution that would not negatively impact states like Tamil Nadu, which have successfully controlled their population, is to ensure that the current representation ratio of 7.18 percent in Tamil Nadu remains unchanged and that the number of 39 Lok Sabha seats is maintained even after the delimitation process,” said AIADMK leader D Jayakumar.
“Alternatively, if the total number of Lok Sabha constituencies remains at 543, the delimitation can be carried out within each state based on the average population per constituency, without altering the number of constituencies allocated to each state. This approach would prevent any state from losing its representation while allowing adjustments within states to account for population shifts due to internal migration or demographic changes in certain constituencies,” he added.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose and K Nitika Shivani.)
