In yet another gesture that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) could back the Centre over the contentious Delimitation Bill, party's Lok Sabha member Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Thursday attended a tea meet called by Speaker Om Birla after the Lower House was adjourned sine die following the conclusion of the Parliament Monsoon Session.
Kanimozhi was the only leader from the opposition who participated in the meeting that was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and other senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Kanimozhi's move to attend the traditional tea meet while Congress or other opposition leaders stayed away from it has once again left one to wonder if the party is considering backing delimitation, which had failed to clear the Lok Sabha during the special session in April.
Will DMK back Centre over delimitation?
The DMK has vehemently opposed the Delimitation Bill when it was introduced in April; however, the Congress' decision to form an alliance with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in aftermath of the 2026 assembly elections have changed the circumstances with the party softening its stance over the contentious legislation.
Speculations are also rife that the DMK could join the NDA, with party's spokesperson Kanimozhi Somu recently asserting that "nobody can be called a friend or an enemy" in politics. She clarified that her party has consistently fought for Tamil Nadu over fair share of Lok Sabha seats after delimitation.
DMK's three conditions to back delimitation
Sources told India TV earlier that the DMK has put forth three condition to back the delimitation. First, it wants a freeze on seats based on the 1971 Census, which is set to end in 2027. The DMK, sources said, wants this freeze to be extended by another 25 years through a constitutional amendment.
Under the second demand, the DMK has said that there should be a 50 per cent blanket increase in Lok Sabha seats for all states. Meanwhile, the third demands states that the Centre should publish the complete list of revised Lok Sabha constituencies of all states along with the new legislation.
Sources have said that the DMK would back the Centre over delimitation if all these three conditions are accepted; however, a final decision will be take by party's top brass after consulting all leaders.
The DMK has 22 Lok Sabha members. It's backing would increase the NDA's strength to 341. However, the ruling bloc would require 360 votes for a two-third majority for Delimitation Bill's passage in Lok Sabha. For this, the NDA could depend on four MPs of Jaganmohan Reddy's YSRCP, one member of the Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM), and eight lawmakers of NCP(SP).
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