Now Reading: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay asks PM Modi to freeze Lok Sabha at 543 seats
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Tamil Nadu CM Vijay asks PM Modi to freeze Lok Sabha at 543 seats
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging a constitutional amendment to permanently fix the Lok Sabha's strength at 543 seats and retain the current…
The Story in Brief
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging a constitutional amendment to permanently fix the Lok Sabha's strength at 543 seats and retain the current state-wise distribution. The letter, sent on Thursday, references a resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on August 12. Vijay also pressed the Centre to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha from the 2029 general elections, without linking it to the delimitation exercise.
Southern states fear they will lose seats in a fresh delimitation based on post-1971 Census data, as they have controlled population growth more effectively than northern states. The Centre's proposed Delimitation Bill, 2026, could expand the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 seats. The women's quota law, passed in 2023, was originally tied to delimitation. Earlier this month, Vijay convened a meeting of Tamil Nadu MPs, which the DMK and AIADMK boycotted as a political exercise.
The Indian Opinion
The southern fear of losing parliamentary seats is real, but the framing that Delhi is punishing successful states is one-sided. Population control was a national policy goal, and southern states achieved it. Yet the Constitution mandates equal representation per person, not per state. The real test will be whether the Centre offers a formula that raises total seats without cutting any state's existing share. The women's reservation demand, linked to delimitation since 2023, deserves a separate, immediate solution. Can Delhi decouple it from the census debate?
Sources (3): economictimes.indiatimes.com, timesnownews.com, indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
