Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay chaired a key meeting of the state’s MPs aimed at forging a united front against the Centre’s proposed delimitation exercise.
Major regional parties DMK and AIADMK stayed away from the gathering.
The meeting, held at Kalaivanar Arangam, brought together around 21 lawmakers from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, drawn mainly from the Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI(M), MDMK and IUML.
The leaders present were unanimous that any population-based redrawing of constituencies which reduces Tamil Nadu’s political weight would be strongly opposed.
Speaking after the meeting, Congress Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram said the consensus reached under Chief Minister Vijay was clear, “the state’s parliamentary representation must remain completely untouched.” This is an issue beyond party politics. This is an issue that concerns Tamil Nadu’s rights and Tamil Nadu’s representation in the Parliament of India. Tamil Nadu can’t be diminished in the Parliament of India. Tamil Nadu’s place in the Parliament of India must be preserved. Any delimitation, whatever might be that formula, whether it is based on population or a uniform increase, will diminish our role in Parliament, and that can’t be allowed,” Chidambaram told reporters.
He appealed to all parties to “rise above party politics” and speak in one voice for Tamil Nadu’s rights.
“We discussed the repercussions of delimitation, in whichever manner it takes place. We are very clear that we want the Parliament to be frozen at 543 and Tamil Nadu’s representation to be guaranteed at 39,” he said.
Chidambaram noted that about 21 of Tamil Nadu’s MPs from both Houses attended and were unanimous that the state’s seat share could not be altered.
“Our representation in the Parliament can’t be diminished. Any kind of alteration and delimitation, either based on population or on a proportionate increase, will be resisted. We want the Parliament to be frozen at 543, and the distribution among the states to be preserved as it is, which means Tamil Nadu will have 39 members in a house of 543,” he added, warning that a larger Parliament would be an “ineffective Parliament” and would not serve the state well.
Congress MP Jyothimani endorsed the position and expressed hope that the boycotting parties would eventually support the cause.
“We have deeply discussed all the issues concerning the delimitation, like how it will be destructive to Tamil Nadu as well as to India. This should be stopped at any cost. That’s the commitment we are all having today… Hope that a better sense prevails across all political parties… Hope they (DMK and AIADMK) will understand the gravity of the situation, and they will also come along with all of us,” she said.
Congress MP Praveen Chakraborty criticised the DMK and AIADMK for skipping the meeting despite their long years in power in the state.
“It was very disappointing that the party that governed the state for 6 terms and the party that governed the state for 5 terms did not participate in a meeting called by the chief minister to defend the rights and freedom of the people of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
“Our demand is very clear: we do not want any change either in the total number of seats or in the share of Tamil Nadu’s seats. We do not want any change. So, there is nothing called fair delimitation. The only delimitation is no delimitation.”
Congress MP Vishnu Prasad echoed the criticism, pointing out that the DMK, AIADMK and their allies PMK and DMDK had stayed away.
“If the delimitation comes into force, if the bill is passed, then definitely our voice, our representation in the Parliament will be reduced… Rahul Gandhi, as well as the CM, told very clearly that this delimitation bill should not be entertained and it should be objected to in the first place. But unfortunately, today DMK and AIADMK are absent, and other alliance partners like PMK and DMDK are absent. Their priorities may be different. They are not bothered about the people of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
The meeting was convened by Chief Minister Vijay to discuss the Union government’s proposed delimitation exercise, which has sparked concern in several southern states over a possible reduction in their parliamentary presence linked to population-based redrawing of constituencies.
The DMK, AIADMK and PMK chose not to attend. The DMK had earlier questioned the TVK government’s stance on delimitation and the absence of a clear agenda for the discussion.
Of Tamil Nadu’s 57 MPs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha combined, 36 opted to stay away. The ruling DMK, which has 22 Lok Sabha MPs and 8 Rajya Sabha MPs, along with the principal opposition AIADMK, PMK and DMDK, completely boycotted the session.
The strong opposition in Tamil Nadu is rooted in long-standing fears about the post-2026 delimitation exercise that will use the next census data.
For decades, southern states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala have successfully followed national population control and family planning guidelines, while several northern states have recorded higher population growth.
Under a strict population-based seat allocation model, southern states fear they will be penalised for their demographic success, losing relative political weight and federal leverage as states with faster population growth gain a larger share of Lok Sabha seats.
To protect federal equity, the parties represented at the meeting are demanding that the total strength of the Lok Sabha remain frozen at its current 543 seats and that the existing state-wise distribution, including Tamil Nadu’s 39 seats, be left completely unchanged.
(with ANI inputs)
