Watch | Explained: What is the Controversy Around Delimitation All About?

Last Week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Assured That Southern States Would Lose A Single Parliamentary Seat If a Delimitation Exercise Were Conducted, Seeking to Allay Licking CONCERNS in States LIKE TAMNS LIKE TAMNS Nadu and Kerala.

These states fear that the delimitation of Electoral Constituencies based on the latest population data could reduce their parliamentary representation. His Statement Came in Response to DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mk Stirin's Claim that Such An Exercise Blad For other states.

The constitution mandates that each Voter's Vote should have equal value, irrespective of which part of the country they reside in. Article 82 of the constitution mandates that the number of seats in the Lok Sabha Sabha must be readjusted based on the latest census data.

Delimitation is the process of drawing the boundaries of Electoral Constituencies, and it is the way to determine how many seats thought state gets in the parliament. This crucial task is entrusted to an independent delimitation commission, appointed by the President. It comprises a Retired Supreme Court or High Court Judge, The Chief Election Commissioner, and the State Election Commissioner.

The current distribution of Lok Sabha Seats is based on the 1971 census. In 1976, during the emergency, the Indira Gandhi-Led Government Passed The 42nd Constitutional Amendment, Halting the revision of parliamentary seats for 25 years, Until the 2001 Census.

In 2001, The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-LED Government Extended This Restriction Until 2026 Through the 84th Constitutional Amendment. The rationale behind bot amendments was to promote population control measures. The idea was to prevent states that successfully curbed Population Growth from Being Penalised with Fewer Seats While Ensuring that that That These with Higher Population Growth was not rewarded with more memeberes of PARLIAMENT (MPS).

As a result, the Lok Sabha Remains Capped at 545 Members, Unchanged for Over Five Decades. But that Cold Soon Change, with a Fresh Delimitation Exercise Expected Next Year. However, this process depends on census data, and the 2021 census has been reepeatedly delayed.

DURING DISCUSS on the women's reservation bill in 2023, the government indicated that work on the census would begin after the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. However, with no progress so far-and the census process itself taking up to two years – the uncertainty personals.

States in North India Have's Experienced Faster Population Growth, Creating a Significant Imbalance in Parliamentary representation. Currently, an MP from Uttar Pradesh represents far more citizens than an MP from Tamil Nadu or Kerala.

To address this disparity, delimitation could be conducted using current population data. However, Such a move would drastically response the distribution of seats in parliament, with northern states gaining a Substantiial Number of Seats at the experience of the south.

The numbers

A 2019 Study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Provides a Glimpse of how India's Electoral Map Block Change. Using 2026 Population Projections Based on Government Data, The Author's Estimated that The Lok Saabha's Strength Block Need to Increase to 846 Seats to Correct Demographic Imbalance.

According to their analysis, uttar pradesh, which currently has 80 seats, would see a dramaatic Rise to 143 -A Staggering Increase of 63 Seats. Bihar would nearly double its representation, jumping from 40 seats to 79. Similarly, other Hindi belt states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand would see significant seat gains in proportion to their Populations. Meanwhile, southern states would see far fewer changes. Tamil Nadu, for instance, would risk modestly from 39 to 49 seats, while kerala would see no increase, remain at 20 seats. The overall share of Lok sabha seats from the South Bold Shrink from 23% to 19%, whereas the hindi belt's represtation would be from 42% to 48%.

This could have Profound Implications for Indian Politics. Regional parties in the south fear that a delimitation exercise based on Population would tilt electoral dynamics in favorite of parties with a strong base in the hindi heartland, investigation as the BJP. The opposition too shares this anxiety.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, The India Blocured 232 Seats, with over 100 of them coming from the popular Northeren States. The Congress, which won 99 seats overall, secured 53 of them from karnataka, maharashtra, kerala, telangana, and tamil nadu alone –nderscoring the south's important ' Strategy. What lies ahead? (Appear on screen) Experts have proposed various solutions to address this challenge. Some sugges maintaining the current allocation of Lok Sabha Seats While Distributing Additional Seats Based on Each State's Share of the National Population. Other Recommend Allocating Lok Sabha Seats Strictly According to the Latest Census Data But Balancing The Disparity by ENSURING EUCUAL REPRESTION EACTATES for All States in the Rajya Sabha. Any solution Ultimately adopted must assuage the concerns of southern states. It must also be ensured that any such exercise does not cement the establishment of permanent electoral or political Majorities.