On 22 Mar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin convened a Joint Action Committee meeting with leaders from multiple states to oppose population-based delimitation, arguing it unfairly penalizes regions like Tamil Nadu and Kerala that have successfully controlled population growth. Stalin warned that recalculating Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) seats using current population figures would diminish southern states’ representation, affecting their ability to secure funding and protect their cultural, linguistic, and developmental priorities. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan likened this looming threat to a Sword of Damocles, while Panjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led union government of trying to manipulate constituency boundaries to bolster its strength in Hindi belt areas. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy echoed these concerns, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s precedent of not increasing total Lok Sabha seats for another 25 years. Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar contended that such a move would marginalize southern voices, emphasizing that the region’s achievements in population control, economic performance, and social development should be rewarded, not penalized. Meanwhile, BJP leaders labeled the gathering a ‘delusional drama’ and staged black flag protests, claiming that no state would lose seats and dismissed the meeting as an attempt to distract from corruption and disputes over rivers Cauvery and Periyar. Nonetheless, representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal also joined or supported calls for fair delimitation. Discussions highlighted the freeze on parliamentary seat allocation since 1976 and debated whether to defer full delimitation until after 2026 or 2031 census data is processed. While Hindi belt allies in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc largely agree southern states should not be penalized, they also insist that Lok Sabha constituencies nationwide need overdue redrawing, signaling a split within the INDIA bloc over balancing population, development, and equitable representation (earlier coverage).
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