Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy speaking in Assembly on Thursday (March 27, 2025)
| Photo Credit: Screengrab of video on handle @revanth_anumula on X
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has called upon all the political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join hands in the fight against the Central Government’s reported moves to increase the number of Lok Sabha constituencies through delimitation on the basis of population.
Southern States representation in LS would drop from 24% to 19%
The southern States, which strictly followed population control measures, will stand to lose if the Centre is allowed to proceed with its move. As against the 24% representation in the Lok Sabha at present, the percentage of the southern States will come down to 19% if the delimitation is carried out on the basis of population.
Resolution passage
“This is a planned attack on the south, an alarming situation. Delimitation of the constituencies on the basis of population will enable the Centre to take any decision without the consent of the southern States,” he said. The Chief Minister was speaking in the Assembly on Thursday (March 27, 2025) during the passage of a resolution expressing deep concern over the manner in which the impending delimitation exercise was planned without any transparent consultations with the stakeholders.
The resolution
The resolution urged the Centre to ensure that the delimitation exercise was carried out transparently and after extensive consultations with all the State Governments, all political parties and other stakeholders.
He recalled how former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi expressed concern that delimitation on population basis would ruin the friendly and cordial relations between the States. Keeping this in view, she took steps to freeze the number of Lok Sabha constituencies at 543 for 25 years and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had extended it by another 25 years in 2002.
“The Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is however adopting double standards in its move towards delimitation on the basis of population. Though some Union Ministers are claiming that there is no such contemplation, we should not be complacent,” he said.
Assembly seats in Telangana and A.P. not enhanced yet: Revanth
He took a dig at the Centre for not enhancing the assembly seats in Telangana to 153 and Andhra Pradesh to 225 in tune with the assurance given in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, eleven years after which it was passed. “When I raised the issue in the Parliament, the Centre replied that delimitation will be taken up after 2026 census,” he recalled. However, the same Government took up delimitation of constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim to suit its political interests.
He recalled that the meeting convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin demanded the freeze on the number of constituencies at 543 should continue for another 25 years. Telangana would organise the next meeting of the southern States where a plan of action to counter the Centre’s moves would be evolved.
He sought the support of all the political parties to pass a unanimous resolution as it would send a strong message that the people, cutting across political lines, were together to protect the State’s interests. Interestingly, the resolution was passed with a voice vote with the Opposition parties not allowed to speak.
Published – March 27, 2025 03:55 pm IST
