Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is taking a serious stand on the issue of delimitation and accusing the BJP government of adopting anti -South policy. They believe that if the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats were delimited on the basis of population, the southern states would have to suffer heavy losses. A meeting of opposition parties was held in Chennai on Sunday on this issue, in which Congress leaders from Odisha, Punjab and South Indian states participated. However, Hindi belt parties and Maharashtra parties distanced away from this meeting, while TMC also did not participate in it.
Delimitation will cause loss to southern states
After delimitation, there may be a big change in the Lok Sabha seats. After the 2026 census, the process of reorganization of Lok Sabha seats is to be done, causing loss of seats to the states of the south. The North Indian opposition parties were not invited to the meeting organized by the DMK, including SP, RJD, Shiv Sena and NCP.
In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, an MP was elected on an average of 10.11 lakh people, but this number is likely to increase after delimitation. It is estimated that if delimitation is done on the basis of a population of 1.5 million, the seats in West Bengal can increase from 42 to 66, while the number will be 50 based on a population of 20 lakhs.
North will benefit, south seats will be stable
Communications like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand will benefit greatly from delimitation. If delimitation is done on the basis of a population of 20 lakhs, the Lok Sabha seats can increase from 543 to 707. According to this calculation, the seats of Tamil Nadu will remain stable at 39, while Kerala will lose two seats. At the same time, if the population of 15 lakhs is made the basis, the total Lok Sabha seats can reach 942, which will give more seats to the North Indian states.
Parties like TMC and SP regarding delimitation have not yet clarified their stand. SP’s base is mainly in Uttar Pradesh, where the number of seats will increase after delimitation. In such a situation, the opposition does not look completely united on this issue, which is likely to intensify this debate in the upcoming political scenario.
