Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (April 16) said that a narrative is being created that the representation of southern states in the Lok Sabha will decline after delimitation, but asserted that their strength will actually increase. According to him, the strength of southern states will go up to 195 in the Lower House.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the special Parliament session, Shah said, "A narrative is being created, and confusion is being spread that these three bills, the Constitutional Amendment Bill and the two related laws on delimitation and changes in election procedures, will reduce the representation of southern states in the Lok Sabha and cause them significant loss. The bill before the House is now the property of the House."
Amit Shah lists seat gains for southern states in delimitation
Shah said the overall increase in seats would ensure that no state loses its existing representation in absolute terms. He emphasised that the exercise is aimed at maintaining fairness while accommodating population changes through an expanded Lok Sabha. "If we listen to the entire narrative created for the South, then out of the 543 seats created by you, 129 MPs currently sit in this House, which is approximately 23.76%. In the new House, 195 MPs will be sitting here, and their power will be 23.97%," Shah said.
- Karnataka has 28 seats, and 5.15 percent of the 543 seats in the House. After the passage of the bill, the number of Karnataka MPs will increase from 28 to 42, and the percentage in the Lok Sabha will increase to 5.44. Karnataka will not suffer any loss at all.
- Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats, which is 4.60 percent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase from 25 to 38, which will be 4.65 per cent.
- Telangana has 17 seats, which is 3.13 per cent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase from 17 to 26, which will be 3.18 percent.
- Tamil Nadu has 49 seats, which is 7.18 per cent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will be 59, and their percentage in the new House of 816 will be 7.23 per cent. Tamil Nadu will also suffer no loss
- Kerala has 20 seats, which is 3.68 per cent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will be 30, and their percentage in the new House will be 3.67 per cent.
"As for Tamil Nadu, where many people have been expressing concerns, I want to assure the people of the state that your representation will not decrease; it will increase," he added.
State-wise seat breakdown
The five southern states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana—currently have a combined 129 seats in the Lok Sabha, which is proposed to be increased to 195.
| States | Current no of seats | No of seats after delimitation |
| Kerala | 20 | 30 |
| Tamil Nadu | 39 | 59 |
| Karnataka | 28 | 42 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 25 | 38 |
| Telangana | 17 | 26 |
Not made any changes to Delimitation Commission Act: Amit Shah
The Home Minister assured that the proposed delimitation bill is on the same lines as those brought by previous governments, dismissing concerns over any major changes in its framework.
"I would like to say to Hon’ble Member Priyanka ji (Gandhi) that we have not made any changes to the Delimitation Commission Act. Not even a comma or full stop has been altered; we have retained the existing Delimitation Commission Act in its entirety. If you are saying that manipulation happened earlier, and you are now saying that it could happen again, then I can only say this: if the Act was misused in the past, we will not do so," he said.
Shah further said that there is a statement being made that elections are taking place in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and that a new Act has been brought in. Shah further said that claims are being made linking the proposed law to ongoing elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, but clarified that such assertions are unfounded. "That is not correct. Let me clearly state that the Delimitation Commission’s report will come into effect only when it is accepted by Parliament and receives the approval of the President. Therefore, there is no question of it being implemented before 2029. Even the elections up to 2029 will be conducted under the existing system and existing constituencies. So there is no need for Akhilesh ji (Yadav) to be worried," he added.
Bill to mandate 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to mandate 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state/UT Assemblies was introduced in the Lower House on Thursday after a division of votes.
Two ordinary bills – the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill to implement the proposed amended women's quota in the Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir – were also introduced in the House on Thursday.
According to the draft Constitution amendment bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's quota law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
According to the current House strength, the NDA commands about 292 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. This is comfortably above the simple majority mark of 272 but falls short of the two-thirds majority required to pass a constitutional amendment bill.
The opposition bloc holds around 232 seats and has said they will vote against the Bill. Opposition leaders have expressed confidence over having the numbers to defeat it.
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