Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin calls all-party delimitation meet: ‘Sword hanging over 5 southern states’

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin calls all-party delimitation meet: ‘Sword hanging over 5 southern states’

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin calls all-party delimitation meet: ‘Sword hanging over 5 southern states’ ByHT News Desk, New Delhi Feb 25, 2025 02:07 PM IST Share Via Copy Link MK Stalin said all political parties from Tamil Nadu, which are registered with the Election Commission, will be invited for the meeting.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin announced on Tuesday that he would hold an all-party meeting on the issue of delimitation on March 5.

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin (PTI/File Photo)

MK Stalin also claimed that after delimitation, the number of Lok Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu will be reduced to 31, a drop of eight from the state's current representation in Parliament's Lower House.

“It has been decided to convene an all-party meet on March 5 to discuss the Lok Sabha delimitation issue. Tamil Nadu is facing the threat of losing 8 seats as the state has successfully implemented the family planning programme that led to population control,” the chief minister told reporters in Chennai, news agency PTI reported

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president added that all political parties from the southern state, which are registered with the Election Commission of India, will be invited to the March 5 meeting.

Reiterating his earlier stance, he described delimitation as a “sword” hanging over the five southern states – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

Further, Stalin said that Tamil Nadu, a state leading in all development indices, is under the “threat” of seeing a reduction in its Lok Sabha seats only because its population is “less.”

“We succeeded in population control through the family planning programme. Just because our population is less, there is a possibility of the Lok Sabha seats being cut down (in TN). We stand to lose 8 seats and as a result, we would be having only 31 MPs, and not the 39,” he stated.

The chief minister accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre of “stifling” Tamil Nadu's voice, and urged leaders across party lines to "jointly speak on the issue."

The debate around delimitation was reignited in September 2023 following the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha.

The delimitation exercise includes the redrawing of constituency boundaries and the reapportioning of seats, and southern states have long feared that any rejig in the number of seats will benefit the more populous states in northern India and hurt south India’s relative weight in Parliament.