Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday expressed strong reservations over the Centre’s recent proposal to increase Lok Sabha and state Assembly seats by 50% through delimitation, alleging that the move was part of a “hidden conspiracy” that could politically discriminate against south India.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Revanth Reddy said the proposed exercise would disproportionately benefit the northern states and significantly dilute the political importance of the southern states in national politics.
The Prime Minister described the proposal as “anti-South India” and warned that the move could shift the balance of political power in favor of a few large northern states, enabling them to decide who will form the government at the Center without needing support from the south.
He noted that there was already a large gap in parliamentary representation between the northern and southern states, and said that any increase in seats should preserve a fair regional balance rather than deepen the division.
According to him, the southern states currently hold 130 out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, while the non-southern states hold 413 seats. He said that if the number of seats was increased by 50%, the south would get 195 seats in the expanded House of Representatives, which includes 815 seats, while the remaining states would get 620 seats.
“Such an outcome would make the southern states increasingly irrelevant in the national decision-making process,” he said.
He explained the disparity by pointing out that while the combined Lok Sabha seats of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry could increase from 40 to about 60 seats, Uttar Pradesh alone could rise from 80 to nearly 120 seats. “This will widen the existing gap in representation and further tilt political influence towards the Hindi-speaking belt,” he said.
Revanth Reddy alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was following a strategy aimed at consolidating power at the Center without relying on the southern states. “If the current trend continues, states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar combined could get enough seats to decide the fate of governments in New Delhi, effectively excluding the South from effective participation in national politics,” he said.
Describing it as the “final blow” to the southern states, Revanth Reddy said the demarcation proposal would sharpen the North-South divide and undermine the federal spirit of the country. He said India should function as a unified country with equitable political representation for all regions, rather than allowing demographic advantage alone to determine political dominance.
He further said that even if the borders were demarcated on the basis of population, the southern states would be unfairly penalized for their successful implementation of family planning and population control measures over the years, which is very much in line with the policies encouraged by the Centre.
“The South has followed the national agenda to achieve population stability, and now it is being punished for this success,” he said.
Revanth Reddy also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of following what he described as a “three-pronged policy” (demarcation, discrimination and devolution), which he claimed was detrimental to the interests of southern states.
The Prime Minister stressed that any decision regarding increasing parliamentary seats must not be taken unilaterally, and must include consultation with all political parties and countries. He added: “The Center must develop a formula that ensures that the current balance between the northern and southern states is maintained, even if the total number of seats is increased.”
Calling for a united response, Revanth Reddy urged southern states and like-minded political leaders to unite together against what he described as an unfair and discriminatory approach to demarcation. He said he was ready to cooperate with leaders from across party affiliations to oppose the move and would also raise the issue before the people during election campaigns.
BJP Telangana president N Ramchander Rao on Wednesday strongly condemned the Prime Minister’s statement that delimitation of constituencies would create differences between the South and the North.
He rejected Revanth Reddy’s argument that delimitation of constituency boundaries would politically harm the southern states. “The Congress has divided the country and now in Telangana, Revanth Reddy is trying to create differences between the South and the North,” he said.
Rao claimed that the Congress party was opposing demarcation as it did not support 33% quota for women in the upcoming elections. However, he said that the BJP will give tickets to women and youth in the upcoming elections.
