New Delhi: Go for delimitation but don’t change the existing number of Lok Sabha seats that every state has, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said, virtually constricting the scope of census-based re-allocation of Lok Sabha seats to states.
“And if you increase the seats (total seats in the Lok Sabha), increase it proportionately (for the states),” Naidu said in an exclusive interview with ThePrint Saturday.
His Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with 16 Lok Sabha MPs is crucial to the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 293 MPs, 21 more than the majority mark.
Naidu’s stance would have a strong bearing on how the Modi government goes about the delimitation exercise.
The two options given by Naidu diminish the possibility of population-based redrawing of Lok Sabha constituencies—a sore issue for the southern states. They argue that re-allocation of seats on the basis of population would bring down their representation in the Lok Sabha, which, they say, amounts to punishing them for controlling their population.
Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin has alleged that there is a “sinister design” in the way the Modi government at the Centre is going about conducting the census and subsequent delimitation. He said the states that ignored population control would be rewarded with additional seats, which would distort the federal structure.
“Indian population is reducing. If they go for delimitation, heartburn will be there. You can go (for delimitation), (but) don’t change the number (of seats). Freeze the number, then go for delimitation,” Naidu told ThePrint.
“If you increase (Lok Sabha seats), increase proportionately. Otherwise, there will be heartburn. Sentiments are involved,” the Andhra CM added.
Explaining further, he said that if Lok Sabha constituencies are reconfigured population-wise, it should be done “within the state”. For instance, if there are 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and 39 in Tamil Nadu, these numbers should remain the same even if constituencies are redrawn population-wise.
Naidu has no issues even if the Centre chooses to increase the overall strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 848 or so. “543 or more depends on policymakers. Increase but proportionately,” he said.
For instance, if Tamil Nadu with 39 seats has 7.18 per cent share of the Lok Sabha, it should have the same percentage of the overall seats even after they are increased.
The Centre is set to issue a notification for the 2027 census next week and the delimitation exercise is likely to be started after the final population count.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has maintained that concerns of the southern states will be taken care of, but the Centre has been equivocal about whether the population-based delimitation would keep the states’ shares in the Lok Sabha—in terms of numbers or proportionate representation—the same.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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