Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has called for an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. Referring to the delimitation process as a “sword hanging over south Indian states”, Stalin said that Tamil Nadu has been forced to wage a war to secure its rights. Appealing to parties in Tamil Nadu, Stalin in an open letter said: “This is the time for us all to join hands. I seek your cooperation in this joint venture.”
Following the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, February 25, Stalin also addressed a press conference and announced that a decision has been made to invite registered political parties in Tamil Nadu to hold joint talks on the issue of delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies.
“We have taken an important decision today at the cabinet meeting, Tamil Nadu is being forced to wage a major struggle to secure its rights. So on March 5, we are going to invite 40 political parties registered with the Election Commission in Tamil Nadu to discuss the issue of delimitation. In the name of constituency realignment, there is a delimitation sword hanging over our heads in South India. Tamil Nadu which has been leading in all development indices is going to get affected very badly,” the Chief Minister added.
‘Delimitation’ refers to the process of revising the number of parliamentary seats in proportion to the population of each state’s constituencies. States are given parliamentary constituencies proportionate to their population based on census numbers. The Lok Sabha’s strength has not been revised for more than 50 years, and is currently based on the 1971 census. During the Emergency, the Constitution was amended to freeze the Lok Sabha’s revision of seats until after the 2001 census. In 2001, this freeze was further extended until 2026 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
In view of the delimitation, Stalin had earlier proposed the idea to increase the population of the state.
The opposition to the delimitation process comes in the wake of a face-off between the Union government and the Tamil Nadu government over the implementation of three-language policy in the state. This has sparked anti-Hindi agitations across the state with DMK cadres painting over Hindi sign boards in several locations.
Stalin’s open letter to all state parties
Stalin, in an open letter to all political parties in Tamil Nadu, outlined the severe impact the delimitation process could have on the state. He explained that two possible methods for delimitation have been suggested.
Under the first method, Tamil Nadu could lose eight Lok Sabha constituencies based on current population estimates and the number of existing seats. The second method proposes increasing the total number of Lok Sabha constituencies to 848. However, even in this scenario, Tamil Nadu would gain only 10 additional seats instead of the 22 it should receive, effectively resulting in the loss of 12 constituencies. Stalin warned that either approach would be disastrous for the state.
“Even now, with the existing constituencies, Tamil Nadu’s reasonable demands have been met. The rights and autonomy of Tamil Nadu are continuously endangered by the concentration of power with the Union Government, reduction or refusal to release funds of Union Government schemes. In this scenario, if the number of our Lok Sabha constituencies are further reduced, Tamil Nadu's voice will be further crushed,” he warned.
The all-party meeting will also address the three language policy under National Education Policy (2020) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
Read: Delimitation: Why southern states could suffer in India's new Lok Sabha