Union Home Minister Amit Shah has addressed concerns about the upcoming delimitation process, reassuring that no Southern state will lose Lok Sabha seats due to population control measures.
He confirmed that the seats would be adjusted on a pro-rata basis, ensuring that the representation of Southern states remains intact. This announcement comes amid debates and concerns raised by political leaders like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who had previously voiced worries over potential seat losses for his state.
Questioning the Modi government’s intentions, KT Rama Rao wondered whether the Centre was planning to penalize Southern States for successfully implementing family planning for the nation’s welfare. He strongly criticized the move, stating that executing delimitation solely based on population, without considering the efforts of the Southern States in population control, was against the spirit of democracy and federalism.
The BRS working president affirmed that one could not ignore the contributions of Southern States to nation-building.In 1951, Southern States accounted for 26.2 per cent of India’s population, which has declined to 19.8 per cent by 2022. Meanwhile, the population share of Northern States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan has risen from 39.1 percent to 43.2 percent. If Lok Sabha seats are allocated based on the latest census, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar together will have 222 seats, while the five Southern States—Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala—will collectively get only 165 seats,” he explained.