Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday hosted a high-profile meeting on delimitation, bringing together leaders from seven states in a move he described as a landmark moment in India’s federal structure. Stalin declared the meeting as more than just a discussion, calling it the beginning of a movement to ensure fair representation in Parliament.
Addressing the gathering, Stalin warned against the reduction of parliamentary representation for states with lower population growth. “Delimitation of constituencies should not happen as per current population. We all should be firm in opposing it. If the number of people’s representatives in Parliament decreases, so will our strength to express our views,” he stated.
Chief Ministers and senior leaders from Kerala, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal participated in the discussion, emphasizing the need to safeguard regional representation. Leaders present included Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder, and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) general secretary PMA Salam.
The BJP came down heavily on Stalin and the DMK-led meeting, dismissing it as a political stunt. Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai slammed the initiative, calling it a “delusional drama.”
“Tomorrow, while TN CM MK Stalin orchestrates his delusional drama on delimitation, we hope he plays the speech of DMK Minister TM Anbarasan to his I.N.D.I. Alliance partners. It’s as if DMK Ministers have made a collective decision to insult and abuse our brothers and sisters of Northern India,” Annamalai wrote on X.
The BJP also staged a black flag protest, criticizing Stalin for prioritizing a political meeting while failing to convene similar discussions on key water disputes, including the Cauvery and Mullaiperiyar river-sharing issues with Karnataka and Kerala.
BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan further lashed out at the DMK, alleging that the meeting was nothing more than a “corruption-hiding gathering” of opposition leaders.
With the 2026 delimitation exercise looming, the DMK’s push for “fair delimitation” has emerged as a major political issue, putting the southern states and BJP-led central government at odds. While the DMK and its allies frame the discussion as a fight for regional rights, the BJP sees it as a divisive political tactic ahead of the 2025 elections.
