Stalin Writes To Siddaramaiah On Delimitation As They Look To Rally Forces For March 22 Chennai Meet – News18

Final Up to date:March 12, 2025, 23:04 IST

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has accepted the invitation, however is not going to attend in particular person attributable to his ongoing restoration from a knee harm. As an alternative, he’ll ship a consultant from his cupboard to make sure Karnataka is represented within the assembly

Tamil Nadu chief minister (CM) MK Stalin has been gathering southern leaders in opposition to the upcoming delimitation train, which is predicted to scale back the political affect of states which have managed their inhabitants progress. As a part of this effort, Stalin has invited his Karnataka counterpart, Siddaramaiah, to hitch the combat.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has accepted the invitation, however is not going to attend in particular person attributable to his ongoing restoration from a knee harm. As an alternative, he’ll ship a consultant from his cupboard to make sure Karnataka is represented within the assembly.

With the 2021 census delayed and 2026 nearing, the delimitation problem has already become a serious political flashpoint. Stalin’s proposed March 22 assembly goals to unite southern states in opposition to what many see as an unfair redistribution of Lok Sabha seats. “We should chart a collective course ahead,” Stalin mentioned, underlining the urgency of the matter.

Extending his assist to the southern states’ resistance in opposition to delimitation, Siddaramaiah criticised the Centre’s transfer, calling it detrimental to Karnataka’s pursuits. “This weakens democracy and violates the federal ideas of the Structure,” he mentioned, including, “Karnataka has made its stand clear—we’ll assist the battle in opposition to this injustice.”

STALIN’S LETTER

Stalin, in his three-page letter to Siddaramaiah, which was personally handed over by Tamil Nadu forest minister Dr L Ponnumudi and Rajya Sabha MP Mohammed Abdullah’s Ismail, warned that submit 2026, the political panorama may shift drastically if seats are reallocated primarily based on the subsequent census. “States that managed their inhabitants progress and achieved superior governance indicators can be punished with lowered illustration within the very discussion board the place nationwide insurance policies are determined,” he wrote.

Stalin reached out to Siddaramaiah with two particular requests. First, he sought Karnataka’s formal consent to hitch a Joint Motion Committee (JAC), which might convey collectively states from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka within the South, to West Bengal, Odisha, and Punjab within the North.

Second, he requested the nomination of a senior Congress consultant to serve on the JAC and assist coordinate a unified technique.

Stalin additionally proposed an inaugural assembly in Chennai on March 22 to set the agenda for collective motion. “This second calls for management and collaboration—rising above political variations to face for the better good,” he wrote, including, “This isn’t nearly an summary precept. It’s about our states’ capability to safe rightful assets, affect essential insurance policies on training and healthcare, and guarantee our financial priorities obtain due consideration within the nationwide agenda. We should stand collectively—not as separate political entities, however as protectors of our folks’s future.”

WHAT IS THE CONTROVERSY?

Inhabitants progress has not been uniform throughout India. Northern states corresponding to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have grown sooner than southern states corresponding to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

If seats are reallocated primarily based on the 2026 census, northern states will acquire extra seats, whereas southern and smaller northern states might lose political affect.

There’s debate over whether or not to maintain the full seats at 543, however redistribute them amongst states or improve the full seats to 848, giving extra seats to all states.

In each circumstances, southern states, smaller northern states corresponding to Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and the northeast are prone to lose out. This raises considerations about equity, as states that managed their inhabitants nicely might find yourself with much less illustration. It additionally goes in opposition to the unique concept of freezing seats primarily based on the 1971 census.

WHAT IS DELIMITATION?

Delimitation is the method of deciding the variety of seats and redrawing constituency boundaries for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. It additionally determines what number of seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). That is executed by a Delimitation Fee, arrange underneath a legislation handed by Parliament. The train was carried out after the 1951, 1961, and 1971 Census.

Nevertheless, in 1976, the method was frozen by way of the forty second Modification till the primary census after 2000 to encourage inhabitants management. “As inhabitants disparities continued to persist, the 84th Constitutional Modification additional prolonged the freeze till the primary census after 2026,” Stalin mentioned.

WHY DELIMITATION IS IMPORTANT

The Structure requires that the variety of Lok Sabha and meeting seats be adjusted after each census. Nevertheless, to advertise inhabitants management, the variety of seats was frozen primarily based on the 1971 census, first till 2000 after which prolonged to 2026. Because of this for over 5 a long time, seat distribution has remained unchanged regardless of inhabitants progress.

The freeze was meant to forestall states with increased inhabitants progress from gaining extra seats, making certain that states with higher inhabitants management weren’t penalised. The subsequent seat adjustment is predicted after 2026, primarily based on the primary census after that 12 months.