Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 7: After coming to an unanimous agreement at the March 5 all-party meeting in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has now called upon seven of his counterparts to join a ‘joint action committee’ of political parties to oppose the delimitation exercise proposed by the centre.
Mr Stalin wrote the letter on Friday to the chief ministers of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan, Karnataka Siddaramaiah, Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, Odisha Mohan Majhi and Punjab Bhagwant Mann as well as senior politicians from non-ruling parties and the BJP in each of these states, to a meeting in Chennai on March 22 “to chart a collective course.”
“Delimitation is a blatant assault on federalism, punishing states that ensured population control by stripping away our rightful voice in Parliament. We will not allow this democratic injustice!” he said on X.
Mr Stalin’s letter to the seven chief ministers follow an appeal this week to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which he asked the Prime Minister to ensure that delimitation, if to be done now, is based on 1971 population data and then frozen for 30 years to motivate other states to control growth.
Mr Stalin has called on his counterparts in southern and eastern India to form a united front against the delimitation exercise, warning that the process – if executed as per the next census – would drastically weaken the political representation of states that have successfully controlled their population. He framed the Union government’s delimitation plans as a fundamental assault on federalism.
“The essence of India’s democracy rests on its federal character — a system that gives each State its rightful voice while honouring our sacred unity as one Nation,” Stalin wrote. “Today, I write with urgency as this balance faces a profound threat that could permanently diminish the influence of States like ours in shaping our nation’s future.”
In his letter, Mr Stalin urged his counterparts in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Odisha, and Punjab to join a Joint Action Committee (JAC) to coordinate resistance. “Together, we must examine the constitutional, legal, and political dimensions of this challenge,” he wrote. “Only through a collaborative analysis and unified advocacy can we hope to secure a delimitation process that honours our role in nation-building without compromising our current level of representation.”
Ahead of an election in Tamil Nadu next year, Mr Stalin and his government have been vociferously protesting the imposition of Hindi by the centre and delimitation, arguing neither is necessary and, combined, amount to an attack on the federal nature of the Constitution and on the Tamil people and language.
The centre has refused both charges, countering the ‘imposition’ claims by saying the new National Education Policy and the three-language formula did not force any student to study Hindi and deflecting criticism of delimitation by insisting the southern states would not be disadvantaged. But the southern states were not convinced.
Mr Stalin’s proposed meeting is expected to address the latter concern, which the Tamil Nadu leader warned could diminish the influence of states that have managed to control population levels.
In his letter, he pointed out that delimitation exercises after 1976 had been put on hold by a 2002 amendment, passed when the BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister – that said changes to the overall number of Lok Sabha seats – now 543 – would be frozen till at least 2026. However, the centre’s plan for a delimitation now, with current data, means states that have controlled population could face a reduction in the number of Lok Sabha seats allotted, while others, including BJP-ruled states in the north, would get more because of vastly increased populations.
“Delimitation math is simple and sobering. Reports suggest the exercise is being considered based on population (and) with two potential approaches. In the first case, the existing 543 seats will be redistributed. In the second, the total number could be increased beyond 800.”
“In both scenarios, states that have successfully implemented population control measures stand to lose significantly if the exercise is based on post-2026 population levels,” Mr Stalin wrote. “We should not be penalised for effectively controlling population growth…”
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was also critical of assurances provided by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had insisted the southern states would not lose a single Lok Sabha seat. Mr Stalin, though, was not convinced, pointing out the Home Minister had not also said northern states, or any others, would not get more instead, thereby still reducing the importance of Tamil Nadu.
He was not the only one to have spoken out; last month Siddaramaiah criticised Mr Shah’s clarifications on delimitation, calling his assurances “unreliable” and “misleading.” He also accused the BJP of using delimitation as a tool to weaken the southern states that have resisted the party’s dominance.
Mr Stalin’s letter to the seven chief ministers were based on the resolution passed at the all-party meeting on March 5 which was attended by both the ruling and opposition parties barring the BJP. Even actor Vijay’s TVK, seen as a dark horse for next year’s state election, attended. The resolution also sought assurances that any increase in number of MPs will be based on the same proportion – MPs to states – as laid out based the 1971 census.
Mr Stalin has also proposed an inaugural meeting on March 22 in Chennai to discuss a collective path forward to discuss the delimitation.
At the core of Stalin’s opposition is the concern that Tamil Nadu and other states that have successfully implemented family planning initiatives over the decades will lose parliamentary seats in favour of states with higher population growth. Tamil Nadu, with 39 Lok Sabha seats, could see its share shrink by up to eight seats, while states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar could gain significantly if the next delimitation is based on post-2026 population data, he has said.
“The question is no longer if delimitation will happen, but when and whether it will honour the contributions of states that have advanced our national priorities,” Stalin warned in his letter.
While acknowledging that “we are not against delimitation itself,” Stalin strongly opposed “its weaponisation against states that fulfilled their national duties, thus punishing progress.” Despite the gravity of the issue, Stalin accused the Union Government of failing to provide clarity or concrete commitments. “Their representatives have vaguely stated that delimitation would follow a ‘pro-rata’ basis, without explaining the base used for such pro-rata calculation,” he said. “When the very foundation of our democracy is at stake, can we accept such vague assurances?”
At the March 5 all-party meeting, Stalin had warned that Tamil Nadu’s representation could be slashed from 39 to 31 seats if the total number of parliamentary constituencies remains at 543. Even in a scenario where the number of MPs expands to 848, Tamil Nadu would still receive only 10 additional seats — far fewer than the 22 it would require to maintain proportional representation.
A pan-India, full-fledged delimitation exercise was carried out three times, namely in 1952, 1963, and 1973, after the 1951, 1961, and 1971 Census exercises, respectively, with another delimitation occurring in 2002. The delimitation row has gathered pace in the build-up to the next election, with DMK leaders even urging newlywed couples to have more children to up the state’s population count.
