Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has strongly criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly using the proposed delimitation exercise as a means to diminish the political influence of southern states. Speaking at the India Today Conclave 2025, Reddy accused the BJP of taking "revenge" on the South by attempting to reduce its representation in Parliament through the redrawing of constituencies based on population. He argued that this move would disproportionately benefit the northern states, where the BJP has a stronger electoral presence while punishing the South for effectively implementing population control measures over the years.
Reddy pointed out that the BJP has historically struggled to gain a foothold in southern states, as evidenced by the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which the party won only 29 out of the 240 seats it secured nationwide. Furthermore, the BJP does not govern any southern state independently, and in Andhra Pradesh, it is merely a junior coalition partner. He suggested that the delimitation exercise is a politically motivated strategy to undermine the South’s influence in national politics and shift power further in favor of the northern states.
Echoing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Reddy called for the delimitation process to be based on the 1971 Census rather than more recent population data. He argued that since the central government had actively promoted family planning initiatives in the past, states that followed those directives should not now be penalized with a reduced number of parliamentary seats. Instead, he proposed freezing the current parliamentary seat distribution for another 30 years to allow for equitable growth across all regions.
To illustrate his point, Reddy cited Uttar Pradesh as an example. Under a pro-rata increase based on population, the state’s parliamentary seats could rise from 80 to 120, while Tamil Nadu’s could increase to only 60. This would result in a massive discrepancy in representation, further marginalizing the South in national decision-making.
The issue of delimitation has sparked growing tensions between the central government and southern states, with Stalin already reaching out to chief ministers of seven states, including Reddy, to form a Joint Action Committee (JAC) against the proposal. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has attempted to allay concerns by assuring that no southern state would lose "even a single seat" after the fresh delimitation exercise. However, skepticism remains among southern leaders, who fear that even if the number of seats does not decrease, their overall influence in Parliament could still be diluted in comparison to northern states.
The controversy highlights a deeper north-south divide in India, where the southern states, despite contributing nearly 30% of the nation’s GDP, fear they could be politically sidelined. Many in the South argue that their economic contributions, better governance models, and successful population control policies should be rewarded rather than punished. As the debate over delimitation continues, it is expected to remain a key flashpoint in the evolving political landscape of India.
