Constituency delimitation: Centre proposes formula to address southern states’ concerns

NEW DELHI: The central government is considering a new formula for constituency delimitation as part of the Women’s Reservation Bill. To address concerns that southern states may lose representation due to effective population control, the Centre has proposed a 50% increase in seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah are expected to speak about this in the Parliament session on Thursday. Under the current situation, if delimitation is carried out based on the 2011 Census, Kerala, which has 20 Lok Sabha seats, may see only a small increase to a maximum of 23 seats.

To overcome this issue, the Centre has suggested a 50% seat increase formula. If implemented, Kerala’s Lok Sabha seats would rise from 20 to 30.

Leaders, including Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, have demanded that economic progress achieved by each state should also be considered in deciding seat allocation.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, and Revanth Reddy have raised concerns over the Centre’s move. Recently, the Telangana Chief Minister also wrote to Pinarayi Vijayan, urging southern states to stand united to address these concerns and resist the proposal.