The recent Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting in Chennai, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, has sparked intense political debate over the upcoming delimitation exercise. Leaders from multiple southern states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, have voiced concerns that the process could unfairly reduce their parliamentary representation due to successful population control efforts. Stalin emphasized that the movement is not against delimitation itself but aims to ensure fairness, proposing legal action if necessary. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan likened the situation to the “Sword of Damocles” hanging over the South, warning that states should not be penalized for following national priorities in controlling population growth.
The meeting was attended by key political figures, including Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and Odisha Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das. However, the absence of West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) raised eyebrows, given its previous support for the cause. Participants strongly argued that delimitation should not be based solely on population figures, as this would disadvantage states that have made significant progress in education, healthcare, and economic development. Odisha’s former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who attended virtually, called for constitutional amendments to prevent any state from losing representation in Parliament.
The BJP, on the other hand, strongly opposed the meeting, staging protests and accusing the opposition of using the issue as a distraction from governance failures. Senior BJP leaders, including Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, dismissed the meeting as a political stunt. They claimed that leaders like Stalin and Shivakumar were attempting to create an artificial crisis to shift focus from corruption allegations and administrative shortcomings. As the 2026 deadline for delimitation approaches, tensions are set to rise, with southern states determined to push for a fairer distribution of parliamentary seats that does not punish their developmental achievements.
