Tamil Nadu MPs oppose delimitation, seek status quo on 543 Lok Sabha seats

Chennai: MPs from several political parties in Tamil Nadu have urged the Centre to abandon the proposed parliamentary delimitation exercise and retain the Lok Sabha’s existing strength of 543 seats, amid concerns that population-based redistribution could reduce the state’s political representation.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay convened a consultative meeting at Kalaivanar Arangam in Chepauk on Saturday to discuss the possible impact of delimitation on the state and other southern states. The meeting was attended by 19 MPs from parties including the Congress, VCK, Left parties, IUML and MDMK and lasted around two hours.

The DMK and AIADMK stayed away from the meeting, while Congress MP Sudha could not attend due to a party programme in Karnataka.

Speaking after the meeting, VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan said there was broad agreement among the participating MPs that the delimitation exercise should be abandoned and the number of Lok Sabha seats retained at 543.

The MPs expressed concern that a population-based delimitation could penalise states such as Tamil Nadu that have successfully implemented population-control measures over the years.