BENGALURU: Warning that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s enthusiasm for delimitation of Lok Sabha seats is just a ploy to punish southern states that resist the BJP’s expansion, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called upon the governments of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh to unite against this injustice. He said discussions are going on with other southern states to launch a coordinated national-level resistance against the Centre’s discriminatory policies.
The CM also slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent remarks on the issue, calling them “untrustworthy” and “misleading”. The Union government is trying to create confusion in southern states while pushing an agenda that unfairly favours the northern states, he said.
Siddaramaiah questioned Shah’s claims that southern states would not be affected by this exercise and demanded clarity on whether the new delimitation will be based on the proportion of the population or the current number of Lok Sabha seats.
If the population-based formula is used, it will severely disadvantage southern states, which have successfully controlled their population while northern states have lagged behind in both population management and development, he said.
‘PM using delimitation to weaken southern states’
“Historically, to prevent such discrimination, the last two delimitation exercises were based on the 1971 census. However, if the upcoming exercise follows the latest population data, Karnataka’s Lok Sabha seats could shrink from 28 to 26, Andhra Pradesh’s from 42 to 34, Kerala’s from 20 to 12 and Tamil Nadu’s from 39 to 31. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh would increase from 80 to 91, Bihar from 40 to 50, and Madhya Pradesh from 29 to 33,” Siddaramaiah said.
Terming the move as blatant injustice that cannot be tolerated, Siddaramaiah asserted that delimitation must either continue using the 1971 census or increase seats proportionally for all states without reducing representation for the south.
He accused the Modi government of using delimitation as a political weapon to weaken southern states that reject the BJP. He recalled BJP President JP Nadda’s election warning that Karnataka would suffer without BJP support and pointed out how the Centre has repeatedly neglected the state—from tax devolution and GST compensation to disaster relief and education policies.
Siddaramaiah urged Kannadigas to unite beyond caste, religion and party lines to oppose this injustice, warning that BJP MPs from Karnataka remain silent spectators while the state is continuously shortchanged.
