- NCP (SP) considers supporting delimitation bill with conditions.
- Supriya Sule cautions population-based delimitation could harm southern states.
- Party support depends on final bill, 50% seat increase.
- Centre previously defended bill, assuring southern states no discrimination.
The BJP could receive a significant boost if the Centre reintroduces the proposed Delimitation Bill during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, with Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule indicating that her party could consider supporting the legislation under certain conditions.
Sule, the working president of the NCP (SP) and a Lok Sabha MP, said the party has not yet received the proposed Bill and will decide its stand only after examining its provisions.
She cautioned that if delimitation is carried out solely on the basis of population, it could adversely affect southern states, describing such an outcome as unfair.
Support Depends On Final Provisions, Says Sule
Sule said there should be no objection if the proposed legislation provides for a 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats based on the existing number of seats allocated to each state.
However, she stressed that the party would not extend its support until it had studied the final draft of the Bill.
“We have not yet seen the Bill. Once it comes, we will study it before taking a decision,” Sule said.
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‘Opposition Parties Also Showed Positive Response’
The NCP (SP) leader said that if the proposed constituency reorganisation legislation includes a provision to increase Lok Sabha seats across the country by 50 per cent, her party will first discuss the proposal with its INDIA bloc allies before taking a final position.
She said the option was discussed during an all-party meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
According to Sule, not only the NCP (SP), but also the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and some other Opposition parties had expressed a positive response to the proposal during those discussions. She, however, reiterated that the party’s official stand would depend on the final version of the Bill.
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Government Defended Bill During April Special Session
During Parliament’s special session in April, the Centre introduced the Delimitation Bill, 2026, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said no state, particularly those in southern India, would face discrimination under the proposed legislation.
Shah said the Bill would benefit southern states rather than disadvantage them. He noted that the region currently has 129 Lok Sabha MPs and said that number would increase to 195 after the proposed changes. He also said the government had not altered the Delimitation Commission Act and had retained its existing provisions.
The INDIA bloc had opposed the legislation, alleging that the Centre could use the delimitation exercise to redraw parliamentary constituencies in a manner that suited its political interests.
