Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has urged the people of the state to have children immediately, arguing that the state’s historically successful family planning measures have now placed it at a disadvantage in terms of political representation. His counterpart Nara Chandrababu Naidu from the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh had also suggested similar measures.
Addressing a gathering at the wedding of a DMK district secretary in Nagapattinam, Stalin said that population-based delimitation could reduce Tamil Nadu’s seats in Parliament, diminishing the state’s political representation.
Stalin said, “Earlier, we used to say, take your time and have a baby. But now the situation has changed, and we should say it now.” He addressed the newlywed couple at the event, urging them to plan their family without delay. “Now I would not say don’t hurry. There is a situation that only if we have a large population, we can have more MPs. This situation has emerged because we succeeded in effective population control. Get children immediately, but give them beautiful Tamil names,” he added.
Stalin’s comments come in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statements on the upcoming delimitation exercise, which will redraw parliamentary and assembly constituency boundaries based on the latest population data. The DMK has been vocal in opposing the exercise, arguing that southern states, which have implemented strong family planning policies, will be unfairly penalized. Stalin has warned that Tamil Nadu could lose up to eight MPs if delimitation is carried out solely based on population size, reducing the state’s representation in Parliament.
To address this issue, Stalin has called for an all-party meeting on March 5, inviting 40 political parties registered with the Election Commission to discuss the implications of delimitation. He said there was a need for unity across party lines, urging opposition leaders to put aside political differences for the sake of Tamil Nadu’s future. “I urge them to attend the meeting. Please set aside ego. Don’t think about why you should listen to my call,” he said.
Delimitation, a constitutional process meant to ensure equal representation based on population shifts, has historically been conducted after every Census. It was implemented after the 1951, 1961, and 1971 Censuses but was put on hold in 1976 through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment during the Emergency. The freeze on seat redistribution was extended until the 2001 Census, allowing states with higher birth rates to implement population control measures without losing political representation. The next round of delimitation is expected to take place after 2026, raising concerns that states like Tamil Nadu, which have successfully controlled population growth, will have fewer parliamentary seats compared to northern states with higher population increases.
Stalin further said that Tamil Nadu and other southern states contribute significantly to the country’s GDP and have made progress in human development indicators, and punishing them for effective governance by reducing their parliamentary representation would be unjust. Calling the delimitation proposal a “sword dangling over Tamil Nadu,” Stalin has urged collective action to protest against what he sees as an imbalance in the federal structure.