The southern states of india strongly oppose delimitation, a procedure intended to increase the size of the indian parliament and public representatives. Southern indian states are fiercely opposing more public representation. The central administration has rejected the claims made by southern chief ministers that it will result in a reduction of their parliamentary representation.
 
Union home minister amit shah declared following the 2024 lok sabha elections that the Center will undertake two projects: the delimitation process and the national census. Shah stated that the delimitation process, which is set for next year, will not affect the political representation of southern states during a public forum in coimbatore on Wednesday, february 23.
 
Shah responded after MK stalin, the chief minister of tamil Nadu, claimed that if the delimitation process is carried out, the state might lose eight seats in the Lok Sabha.  To address the matter, he has scheduled an all-party meeting for march 5.

What is a delimitation exercise?
Since the delimitation process is the subject of so much political controversy, let's first define the word.  The process of redrawing the borders of electoral seats, such as the State Legislative Assemblies and the lok sabha, is known as delimitation.  The number of seats each indian state will receive in the parliament is determined by its outcome.

What does the indian Constitution say
Each state should be proportionate to its population, as stated in the indian Constitution.  This is where Articles 82 and 170 are used to carry out the delimitation process.
 
 Article 82: parliament must enact a Delimitation Act following each national census to adjust the number of lok sabha seats and their borders in light of population shifts.  This procedure is then carried out by the Delimitation Commission.
 
 State Legislative Assemblies are delineated by Article 170, which establishes the number of seats in each state according to population.
 
Delimitation directly proportional to the population
A commission established under the Delimitation Act of the parliament conducts the national census, or population census, which serves as the basis for the delimitation procedure.
 
 The delimitation process is directly proportionate to the population of the relevant indian state, as was previously indicated.  Accordingly, indian states with larger populations receive more Members of parliament (MPs), whereas those with smaller populations receive fewer MPs.
 
 Ensuring every state has equal representation in the indian parliament is the fundamental premise.

Population census freeze
Under the late prime minister Indira Gandhi, the latest population census was carried out in 1971.  The indian Parliament's mp count was set at 543 seats at the time.  Following its freezing by several Union administrations, this figure has been constant to this day.
 
 In 1971, the first freeze occurred.  The administration of the late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee implemented the second freeze in 2001, however, it was delayed until 2026, one year later.  Encouragement of population control methods was the major goal, especially in the Hindi-speaking region of the nation.
 
Why are southern states opposing the delimitation exercise?
The southern states—Andhra Pradesh, tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, and Karnataka—are quite concerned that if the delimitation process is carried out, their number of Members of parliament will decline.
 
 MK stalin, the chief minister of tamil Nadu, recently stated that, in contrast to the northern indian states, known as the BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh), the southern states had done a perfect job of managing population increase.
 
He discussed the potential effects of the delimitation process on tamil Nadu while addressing the Assembly.  He used the example of tamil Nadu, which has 39 MPs at the moment, and bihar, which has 40.  The population of bihar is substantially bigger than that of the other state.
 
 Stalin said that since the population of bihar has increased by 1.5 times more than that of tamil Nadu, there would inevitably be more MPs representing Bihar.
 
 KT Rama Rao, the working president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), has backed Stalin's argument that the whole South indian region is impacted by the population-based delineation of parliamentary constituencies.

Experts take of delimitation
Opinions on the 2026 delimitation exercise are divided among experts.  Some caution that it may lead to regional and political inequalities, while others view it as an essential step to guarantee equitable representation based on demographic shifts.  It may result in the BIMARU states, which are primarily run by the bjp, gaining more authority.

 Additionally, experts warn that southern states could become less influential in Parliament.  The only southern state where the bjp now forms a partnership with the telugu desam party is Andhra Pradesh.

Rangarajan R, a former IAS official, has proposed that the 1971 census be used for the Parliamentary seat distribution, but that the 2026 population census be used to determine the seats for the Legislative Assembly.

 Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the former governor of West Bengal, recommended another freeze until the population was stable overall.

 Consequently, experts advise that the delimitation process be carried out cautiously to prevent regional tensions, particularly the widening North-South split, even if it is crucial for equitable representation in the Parliament.


 

 

 
For more interesting updates wa click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel

Find out more:

Delimitation

SIBY JEYYA

28/02/2025 08:34 AM