Jun 05, 2025 05:51 AM IST

#Tamil Nadu CM and DMK president MK Stalin mentioned that the #Constitution of India mandates that the delimitation train should observe the primary census after 2026

After officers of the Union authorities on Wednesday mentioned that the long-delayed census can be carried out in two phases earlier than March 1, 2027, #Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin mentioned that the #Constitution of India mandates that the delimitation train should observe the primary census after 2026.

MK Stalin mentioned that the #Constitution of India mandates that the delimitation train should observe the primary census after 2026. (PTI)

“The BJP has now delayed the census to 2027, making their plan clear to reduce #Tamil Nadu’s parliamentary representation. I had warned about this. It is now unfolding,” Stalin mentioned.

He additional mentioned that #Tamil Nadu’s major opposition AIADMK led by Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) “is not just silent but complicit in this betrayal. It’s now clear that he has surrendered to #Delhi’s domination.” He made the remarks whereas referring to the Dravidian celebration becoming a member of fingers with the BJP in April, 19 months after they cut up, to battle the 2026 meeting elections collectively.

In March, Stalin led a joint motion committee (JAC) comprising the chief ministers of 4 states and political events from three others calling for a good delimitation. They mentioned that the delimitation based mostly on train would penalise southern states like them that had introduced the inhabitants below management.

The JAC urged the Centre to increase the freeze on the delimitation on parliamentary constituencies by one other 25 years, upping the ante on a contentious train that may widen the chasm between India’s northern and southern areas. The assembly had representatives from seven states, together with chief ministers of #Tamil Nadu, #Telangana, Punjab and #Kerala, and the deputy chief minister of #Karnataka. #Bharat Rashtra Samithi working chief KT Rama Rao additionally attended the assembly whereas #Biju Janata Dal chief #Naveen Patnaik joined nearly.

“The people of #Tamil Nadu are united as one in their demand for a fair Delimitation,” Stalin mentioned late on Wednesday. “We need clear answers from the Union government.”

The subsequent assembly of the JAC can be held in Hyderabad. At the guts of the spiralling controversy is the difficulty of delimitation – initially scheduled for 2026 – which redefines the variety of representatives a state sends to the Lok Sabha on the idea of inhabitants. A 2019 evaluation by Milan Vaishnaw and Jamie Hintson of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, projected that such an train may see the general power of the Lok Sabha rising to 848, with Uttar Pradesh alone seeing its tally enhance from the present 80 to 143 by 2026. In distinction, #Tamil Nadu, which presently sends 39 representatives, may see the quantity rise to only 49. #Kerala, which sends 20, would see no change in any respect.

The forty second modification to the Constitution in 1976 froze delimitation based mostly on the 1971 census, to advertise household planning and inhabitants management. Then, in 2001, the 84th Amendment to the Constitution prolonged the freeze till 2026. When the delimitation occurred in 2008, the whole variety of seats remained the identical however the constituency boundaries had been redrawn.