Congress backs TN resolution for a 25-year freeze on Lok Sabha seats

P Chidambaram advocated for a 25-year freeze on the 543 Lok Sabha seats, aligning with the Congress party's stance and a resolution by the Tamil Nadu Assembly against the proposed delimitation exercise to protect southern states' political weightage.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram on Friday advocated for a 25-year freeze on the current strength of the Lok Sabha, aligning the Congress party's stance with the resolution recently passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. In a post on social media platform X, the Congress leader said, "The Lok Sabha constituency delimitation, the resolution of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, and the Congress Working Committee's resolution have all adopted the same stance. There should be no changes to the Lok Sabha's total of 543 seats or Tamil Nadu's 39 constituencies. The Congress party's stance is that these current numbers should be extended for 25 years."

Chidambaram expressed satisfaction over the rare political unanimity seen in Tamil Nadu on this federal issue, noting that both the ruling and opposition parties in the state are on the same page. "We are pleased that this stance is supported by Tamil Nadu's ruling party (TVK) and main opposition party (DMK)," Chidambaram remarked.

Delimitation Sparks Concern in Southern States

The discussion on delimitation has become a major flashpoint in southern India, with leaders across the spectrum expressing concern that states which successfully implemented population control measures might face a reduction in their political weightage if seats are redistributed based on current population figures.

Tamil Nadu Assembly's Resolution and Demands

Earlier, the Tamil Nadu Assembly on August 12 passed a resolution against the proposed Delimitation exercise. The resolution points out that while a constitutional amendment bill proposes to increase the number of Lok Sabha members from 550 to 850 based on the 2011 census, such a move would be detrimental to states that have followed national directives on population management.

Through the resolution, the Tamil Nadu government has placed four major demands before the Union Government. In the resolution the Tamil Nadu Government urged the Union Government to, permanently retain the total number of Lok Sabha members at 543 as it is now, permanently retain the inter-state allocation of Lok Sabha seats based on the current proportion of representation, maintain the current ratio of 2.2:1 between population and states and implement the 33% reservation for women in the upcoming 2029 Lok Sabha elections based on the current 543 constituencies, even before the Women's Reservation Bill is implemented.

Legislative Context and Opposition's Stand

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on April 16 to expand the Lok Sabha's strength to 850 seats and expedite the implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill passed in 2023. However, the bill was not passed as it failed to secure the constitutionally required special two-thirds majority of members present and voting in Parliament.

While the Congress and the opposition parties have expressed support for the women's reservation bill, they opposed the delimitation exercise, seeking to increase the number of seats in the Lower House of Parliament. The Opposition has demanded delinking of women's reservation from the delimitation exercise. (ANI)

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