Recently, Tamil Nadu CM  has convened an all-party meeting to deliberate on delimitation, aiming to initiate a nationwide discussion on the issue.

Delimitation

• Purpose : Delimitation Adjusts the number of seats in Parliament and State Assemblies. It redefines constituency boundaries based on population changes.
• Constitutional Basis:
• • Article 82: Requires seat allocation adjustments after every Census.
  • Article 81: Limits Lok Sabha strength to 550 (530 from states, 20 from UTs). Ensures equal seat-to-population ratio across states.
• Background: Legislative seats frozen since 1973 based on the 1971 Census. It prevented States with higher population growth from gaining more seats at the expense of others.
• Constitutional Mandate: The 84th Constitutional Amendment mandates delimitation after the first Census post-2026.
•  Census Delay: The 2021 Census has been delayed, raising concerns about potential early delimitation. 
  • Normally, delimitation would follow the 2031 Census, but it could now happen after 2026.
  • Questions arise about whether the Union government is intentionally delaying the Census to advance delimitation.

Challenges Associated with Delimitation

• Demographic Imbalance : TFR (Total Fertility Rate) varies across States Hindi-speaking States (Bihar, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh) have high TFR (≈3.5). Non-Hindi States (Kerala, TN, WB) have low TFR (1.6-1.8, below replacement level).
• Impact:  Southern States’ seat share may drop from 25% to 17%. Hindi heartland’s share may rise from 40% to 60%, altering political dynamics.
• Fiscal Disparity: Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu contribute far more in taxes but receive only 30% in return. Bihar, UP receive 250%-350% of their contributions.
  • 16th Finance Commission’s shift to 2011 Census for fund devolution may further disadvantage developed States.
• Threat to Federalism: India’s multi-ethnic, multilingual structure is at risk. The Hindi-speaking population rose from 36% (1947) to nearly 43% today.
  • Southern and other non-Hindi regions risk marginalization in policymaking. 
  • Delimitation would reward population growth over governance and economic performance.
• Regional Alienation: Stakeholdership Index (Lok Sabha seats per State) will tilt:
  • Bihar, MP (BJP strongholds) will nearly double their influence.
  • Kerala, TN may lose 30%-40% of representation.
  • This could further alienate non-Hindi regions, reducing their say in national policy.

Way Forward

• Need for Balance: A delicate balance is needed between electoral equality and federalism. Uncontrolled delimitation could lead to taxation without representation, echoing historical grievances.
  • A just approach is required to ensure no State feels like a “colony” of the Union.
• Extend the Freeze: Continue the precedent set by Indira Gandhi and Vajpayee by extending the freeze for another 25 years.
  • Defers the contentious issue to a future generation while maintaining the current federal balance.
• Permanent Freeze : Keep the current distribution of Lok Sabha seats across States permanently. This prevents penalizing States that controlled population growth while ensuring continued representation.
• Federal Reforms: Proceed with delimitation but introduce a new federal structure to balance power: 
• Abolishing Lists: Abolish the Concurrent List and expand the State List. Vest all residual powers with States instead of the Union. 
• Transfer subjects from the Union List to the State List, except for core national functions like:
  • Defence
  • External Affairs
  • Currency
• Softening: This would soften the majoritarian impact of delimitation while strengthening State autonomy.
• Increase Lok Sabha Seats: Maintain the current State-wise proportion of seats but increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats. This ensures that population growth is accounted for without diluting the representation of smaller States.

Conclusion

India is a unique federal experiment, unlike Russia, China, or mono-linguistic nation-states. The anti-imperialist struggle united India, and majoritarianism cannot be allowed to undo this unity. A balanced, inclusive approach is essential to ensure fair representation without marginalizing any region.

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