Battle lines drawn over delimitation

Southern states reject population-based formula, demand GDP-based representation and legal safeguards against 'unfair redistribution'. ARCHIS MOHAN writes

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On Saturday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin-led Joint Action Committee for Fair Delimitation passed a resolution at its meeting in Chennai, demanding that the "freeze on Parliamentary constituencies based on the 1971 Census population be extended by another 25 years".

Apart from Stalin, the CMs of Kerala, Punjab, and Telangana, as well as the Deputy chief minister of Karnataka, attended the meeting. They cautioned that the impending delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, if carried out solely based on population, could "disempower" southern and other "progressive" states.

Stalin said Tamil Nadu, which had effectively controlled its population through social welfare programmes, could lose at least eight Lok Sabha seats if the current population-based formula were implemented.

Stalin rejected Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent assurance that southern states would not lose any seats "on a pro-rata basis" as "politically ambiguous" and lacking formal commitment. Shah had said the number of seats would not be reduced for any state and would be increased on a 'pro-rata' basis for all states. However, southern states have expressed uncertainty over whether this 'pro-rata' share would be based on their existing percentage of seats or on projected population figures.