BJP conspiring to weaken southern states politically: Telangana CM on delimitation

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party was conspiring to weaken southern states politically and financially through a proposed delimitation exercise because it does not have a foothold in the southern part of the country, PTI reported.

“Their plan is to ensure that the states where they have little presence should not have a share at the Centre,” the Congress leader said. “That conspiracy will be resisted.”

Reddy warned that punishing southern states for effectively controlling population growth could lead to a “revolt”.

Delimitation is the process of redrawing the territorial boundaries of an electorate, in this case Lok Sabha constituencies. Article 82 of the Constitution states that after every census is completed, the allocation of Lok Sabha seats to each state must be adjusted based on changes in their population.

The composition of the current Lok Sabha is based on the 1971 census. According to the 84th Amendment Act of 2001, the constituency boundaries were frozen until the first census after 2026, which would be due in 2031.

However, southern states have expressed concerns that population-based delimitation could give an undue advantage to northern and central states in the Lok Sabha.

Reddy on Friday also questioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assurance that southern states would not suffer due...

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