Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced on Tuesday that he will hold an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the Lok Sabha delimitation issue. Stalin warned that the state is at risk of losing 8 Lok Sabha seats, reducing its representation from 39 to 31.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Stalin attributed the potential seat loss to Tamil Nadu’s successful population control efforts. “We succeeded in population control through the family planning programme. Just because our population is less, there is a possibility of our Lok Sabha seats being cut down,” he said.
Stalin criticized the BJP-led central government, accusing it of stifling Tamil Nadu’s voice. He urged leaders from all parties to unite against the delimitation exercise, which he described as a “sword” hanging over the five southern states – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.
The debate on delimitation intensified after the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in September 2023. Delimitation involves redrawing constituency boundaries and reallocating parliamentary seats based on population changes. Southern states fear the process could reduce their political influence in Parliament while benefiting northern states with higher populations.
Stalin also addressed the three-language policy pushed by the Tamil Nadu BJP, calling it “Hindi imposition.” Echoing recent remarks by his son and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, he declared, “Yes, we are ready for another language war.”
The statement refers to anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu during the 1930s and 1960s, when protests erupted against attempts to make Hindi a compulsory language.
Stalin recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, objecting to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s warning that Tamil Nadu would lose central education funds if it did not implement the three-language policy.
The upcoming March 5 meeting is expected to bring together all political parties registered with the Election Commission from Tamil Nadu, signaling a unified front against delimitation and language imposition.
