Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin Reaches Out To 7 CMs To ‘Chart Collective Course’ Against Delimitation

Last Updated:March 07, 2025, 16:43 IST

Stalin expressed strong opposition to delimitation, emphasising that it unfairly penalised states that successfully implemented population control measures and maintained good governance.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday called on his seven counterparts in southern Indian states, West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab, to form and join a Joint Action Committee (JAC) against the delimitation exercise proposed by the union government.

In a letter addressed to Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Odisha’s Mohan Majhi and Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann, he mentioned about two specific requests.

First, a formal consent by the states of “Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka in the South”, along with “West Bengal and Odisha in the east, Punjab in the north.”

Additionally, he has also called senior political leaders from other parties in each of these states to nominate a “senior representative” from the party who could serve on the JAC to help coordinate Tamil Nadu’s “unified strategy.”

“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.

He has also proposed an inaugural meeting on March 22 in Chennai to discuss a collective path forward to discuss the delimitation.

Stalin expressed strong opposition to delimitation, emphasising that it unfairly penalised states that successfully implemented population control measures and maintained good governance.

In his letter, he pointed out delimitation exercises after 1976 were frozen 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.

191 Census Should Be Basis For Delimitation: Stalin

Earlier on March 5, he called n all-party meeting on delimitation where proposed that the 1971 Census be the basis for delimitation of Parliamentary constituencies for 30 years starting 2026.

At the meeting that was attended by main opposition AIADMK among others, Stalin, moving a resolution, said that in the event of increase in the number of seats in Parliament, the 1971 Census should be the basis for it and that appropriate Constitutional amendment should be done.

Also, the 1971 population data should be the basis for delimitation of LS seats for 30 years from 2026 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should make an assurance in the Parliament, he asserted.

Recently Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the delimitation exercise will not affect southern states, including Tamil Nadu, and had accused Stalin of spreading a misinformation campaign on the matter.

Seeking to put to rest speculation on the subject, he had asserted no southern state would see a reduction in the Parliamentary representation when delimitation will be done on pro-rata basis. The DMK had questioned this assertion as well, asking the basis for pro rata–whether on population or the existing constituency of MP or MLAs.

What Is Delimitation?

Delimitation is simply the process of redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary and state assembly constituencies to reflect changes in population. It is conducted to ensure fair political representation based on demographic shifts and also determines how many seats will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), both in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Delimitation is constitutionally sanctioned vide Articles 82 and 170 of the Indian Constitution, wherein the number of seats and their boundaries are adjusted after each Census. This task is carried out on the basis of the latest Census data, by the Delimitation Commission, which is set up through a law passed by the Parliament.

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.

(With inputs from agencies)