Extend freeze on parliamentary constituency boundaries by 25 years, DMK-led group urges Centre

A joint action committee led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday adopted a resolution against the proposed delimitation exercise to redraw the boundary of Lok Sabha constituencies, ANI reported.

The resolution urged the Union government to extend the freeze on the boundaries for the constituencies based on the 1971 census for another 25 years. The committee also demanded transparency from it on the delimitation exercise.

Delimitation is the process of fixing boundaries of territorial constituencies. Article 82 of the Constitution states that after every census is completed, the allocation of Lok Sabha seats to each state must be adjusted based on changes in their population.

On March 7, Stalin called on the chief ministers of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab to form a joint action committee against the exercise. The first meeting of the committee was held in Chennai on Saturday.

The composition of the current Lok Sabha is based on the 1971 census. According to the 84th Amendment Act of 2001, the constituency boundaries were frozen until the first census after 2026, which would be due in 2031.

However, southern states have expressed concern that population-based delimitation could give an undue advantage to northern and central states in the Lok Sabha.

In its resolution adopted on Saturday, the joint action committee urged the Union government to “not penalise” states that had effectively implemented population control programmes, according to ANI.

“The Union government must enact necessary constitutional amendments for this purpose,” the resolution read.

The committee added that political parties from different states participating in the meeting would bring appropriate resolutions in their legislative Assemblies on delimitation.

“The JAC [joint action committee] will also undertake necessary efforts to disseminate information on the history and context of past delimitation exercises and the consequences of the proposed delimitation among citizens of their respective states, through coordinated public opinion mobilisation strategy,” the resolution said.

It added that the core committee, comprising MPs from the represented states, “will coordinate the parliamentary strategies to counter any attempts by the Union government to undertake any delimitation exercise contrary to the principles mentioned above”.

The resolution added that the core committee would also submit a joint representation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ongoing parliamentary session on the proposed exercise.

Fourteen leaders from at least five states across the country, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann were present at the meeting.

On February 25, Stalin had claimed that the delimitation exercise could cost his state eight Lok Sabha seats.

A day later, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the southern states would not lose a single Lok Sabha seat on account of delimitation.

Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Stalin claimed that the assurance made by Shah that southern states would not lose parliamentary seats due to the proposed delimitation exercise was “ambiguous”, The Indian Express reported.

The fight for representation was crucial to prevent states from meeting Manipur’s fate, he added.

Manipur has been mired in ethnic conflict between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar communities that broke out in May 2023 and has since left at least 258 dead and displaced more than 59,000.

“Manipur has been burning for two years, and its people’s demands are being ignored because they don’t have the representation to make their voices count,” Stalin said while linking parliamentary strength to the ability of a state to seek justice.

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