At a time the Narendra Modi-led Central government plans to implement the long-delayed population census in 2025, with a target for completion by 2026, a critical constituency of the BJP-led TDP expressed its reservations over population as a criterion for delimitation.
TDP Parliamentary Party leader Lavu Lavu Sri Krishnadevaraya raised this issue during a debate in the Lok Sabha. He said that under the next delimitation, the southern states stand to lose while the north will gain politically.
He pointed out that the calculation is that the seats of four states – UP, Bihar, MP and Rajasthan – will increase from the present 169 to 324, while the seats of Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka will increase from the present 129 to just 164.
Devarayalu said this wouldn’t be in the interest of federalism, and the states with lesser populations deserve the benefits of delimitation. He also called for the time limit for governors to give assent to bills passed by state assemblies.
The MP had earlier too rallied against the Centre’s decision, arguing that Andhra Pradesh shouldn’t be penalised for successfully managing its population and that the delimitation policy should be reworked only after consultations with stakeholders.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief Chandra Babu Naidu had earlier also demanded the Centre rework the delimitation policy to address the concerns of Southern states, mainly Andhra Pradesh.
He had raised the issue several times, including recently when he called on people to have more children after the state’s Total Fertility Rate (TRF) fell below the national level of 2.0.
Moreover, Naidu said that his government was contemplating moves to incentivise families to have more children. He also expressed concern about the move, including its effect on the development of the state.
The current size of electoral constituencies is based on the 1971 census despite the country’s population growing manifold. This has resulted in over-representation and under-representation of some states. For instance, while one member represents 3.1 million citizens in Bihar, Kerala has one MP standing for 1.75 million people.