Extend freeze on parliamentary constituency boundaries by 25 years, DMK-led group urges Centre

A joint action committee led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday adopted a resolution against the proposed delimitation exercise to redraw the boundary of Lok Sabha constituencies, ANI reported.

The resolution urged the Union government to extend the freeze on the boundaries for the constituencies based on the 1971 census for another 25 years. The committee also demanded transparency from it on the delimitation exercise.

Delimitation is the process of fixing boundaries of territorial 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.

On March 7, Stalin called on the chief ministers of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab to form a joint action committee against the exercise. The first meeting of the committee was held in Chennai on Saturday.

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 concern that population-based delimitation could give an undue advantage to northern and central states in the Lok Sabha.

In its resolution adopted on Saturday, the...

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