NEW DELHI: Karnataka chief minister Siddharamaiah on Thursday said that Union home minister Amit Shah‘s recent assurance that southern states will not lose a single Lok Sabha seat due to delimitation is “not credible” and accused him of “deliberately creating confusion among the people of southern states”.
In a series of social media posts on X, Siddharamaiah cited studies and claimed that the Lok Sabha delimitation on population data will cause the south Indian states to lose 26 seats.
“The statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah claiming that the central government will not allow injustice to the southern states in the constituency reorganization process is not credible. It seems to be a deliberate attempt to create confusion among the people of the southern states. Looking at the Home Minister’s statement, it appears that either he is lacking information or there is a clear intention to do injustice to the southern states, including Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
“Over the last 50 years, the southern states have not only effectively controlled their population but have also made significant progress in terms of development. Meanwhile, northern states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh have not only failed to control their population but have also lagged in their development journey. As a result, if constituency reorganization is done based on the recent population census, the number of Lok Sabha seats in southern states, including Karnataka, will certainly decrease. On the other hand, the northern states will witness an increase in their share of constituencies,” Karnataka CM said.
“Several studies have been conducted regarding the consequences of constituency reorganization. According to these studies, if the reorganization is based solely on the recent population data (either from 2021 or 2031), Karnataka’s Lok Sabha seats are likely to decrease from 28 to 26. Similarly, Andhra Pradesh’s number of Lok Sabha seats will drop from 42 to 34, Kerala’s from 20 to 12, and Tamil Nadu’s from 39 to 31. At the same time, Uttar Pradesh’s Lok Sabha seats will rise from 80 to 91, Bihar’s from 40 to 50, and Madhya Pradesh’s from 29 to 33. Can this be called justice, or is it an injustice?” he added.
Siddharamaiah further attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that enthusiasm towards delimitation by the Centre appears that there is a malicious intent to punish the people of the southern states.
“Looking at the enthusiasm shown by the central government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, towards the reorganization of constituencies, it appears that there is a malicious intent to punish the people of the southern states who are resisting their efforts to elevate their party’s flag. The warning issued by BJP President JP Nadda during the assembly election campaign that the state will not receive the blessings of Narendra Modi if the people of Karnataka do not support BJP, is being reflected in every action the central government is taking against our state,” he said.
“Efforts are being made to hold discussions with neighboring southern states to organize a collective fight against these injustices. In the coming days, an organized struggle will be carried out along with all the states affected by injustice,” he added.
Sidharamiah’s remarks came amid the ongoing tussle between Amit Shah and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin over the claims that southern states would lose parliamentary constituencies due to delimitation.
Earlier Shah clarified that no state’s Lok Sabha seats would be reduced and that southern states, including Tamil Nadu, would receive additional constituencies on a pro-rata basis.
“Chief minister Stalin is lying to the people of Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that no state will lose its parliamentary seats due to delimitation. Instead, Tamil Nadu and other southern states will gain constituencies based on population proportion,” Shah said.
“On fund allocation too, the DMK government is misleading the people. The NDA government has given Rs 5 lakh crore to Tamil Nadu in 10 years, while the UPA government only allocated Rs 1.5 lakh crore,” he added.
Earlier, Stalin expressed concern about the potential reduction in Parliamentary seats, attributing it to the state’s successful implementation of family planning initiatives.