Chennai : The AIADMK has decided to stay away from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay’s all-party meeting on delimitation scheduled for Saturday, dealing a setback to efforts to build a united political front in the state against the Centre’s proposed exercise to redraw parliamentary constituencies. The DMK has also announced that it will boycott the meeting, highlighting growing divisions among Tamil Nadu’s major political parties over the contentious issue.
The issue has emerged as a major political flashpoint across the state and southern India. The development comes amid renewed debate over reports that the Centre may reintroduce a delimitation bill alongside the implementation of women’s reservation. Political parties in southern states, particularly Tamil Nadu, have strongly opposed any delimitation exercise linked to population figures.
They argue that states that successfully implemented population-control measures could lose political representation, while states with higher population growth, particularly in the north, could gain additional seats. The issue has also created friction within the Opposition alliance amid speculation that the DMK had softened its position on delimitation. However, Tamil Nadu Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin recently reiterated that the DMK had opposed delimitation “from the very beginning” and would continue to oppose it.
The proposed delimitation legislation had earlier failed to secure passage after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was defeated in Parliament in April. Opponents of the exercise argue that using the 2011 Census as the basis for delimitation could disproportionately increase parliamentary representation for northern states while reducing the relative political influence of southern states, which have recorded lower population growth.
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