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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s anti-delimitation campaign gained further strength as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) affirmed his attendance at the all-party meet on March 22 in Chennai.
KTR announced this on Thursday after holding a meeting with a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) delegation at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad. The delegation, headed by Tamil Nadu Minister KN Nehru and Rajya Sabha MP NR Elango, officially invited BRS to be included in the important discussion.
The meeting, led by DMK leader Stalin, is to discuss the contentious delimitation problem, which, southern leaders claim, risks reducing the parliamentary seats of South Indian states.
KTR slams the centre’s delimitation policy
After his meeting with the DMK delegation, KTR came down heavily on the Union government’s delimitation policy, which will be formulated on the basis of the recent population census.
KTR contended that the action is unjustly penalizing states such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, which have effectively put into action family planning initiatives.
“It is regrettable that the Centre is planning to cut the parliamentary constituencies of states that have properly complied with its family planning policies,” KTR said, labeling the policy a “gross injustice” on southern states.
KTR cautioned that allocating parliamentary seats only on population would dilute the political voice of South Indian states in national politics. “This is not a Telangana matter, it’s a South India matter. If we don’t remain united now, our representation and clout in national decision-making will be unfairly reduced,” he stated.
He also stressed that, with the leadership of BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao, the party will take an active role in the March 22 meeting to make Telangana’s voice heard.
DMK’s call for 1971 census-based delimitation
The delimitation process, which is likely to come into force after 2026, will redraw parliamentary constituencies on the basis of fresh population figures.
But Stalin and the DMK say that southern states, which have managed to keep birth rates in check over the decades, might lose parliamentary seats. They say that northern states with higher population growth will gain more seats, further shifting the balance of power.
To counter this, Stalin is calling for the 1971 census to be used as the reference point for delimitation, providing equal representation without penalizing states for prudent population management.
With growing opposition to the Centre’s plan, the March 22 all-party meeting is likely to be a turning point in determining the political narrative around delimitation and representation in India.
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