Delimitation discontent: Why 'punish' South India for its progress?

The upcoming delimitation exercise should not result in a reduction in political influence of the southern states, which have controlled population and done better development than the North, said Opposition leaders at the India Today Conclave South in Kochi, whereas representatives from the BJP and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) argued for proportional representation to be maintained in the region.

The southern states took measures to control population and made progress in health and education, and they should not be “punished” for it, said Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather during the session ‘The Southern Challenge: Federalism, Delimitation and the Politics of Power’ on September 29.

“We (southern states) have done what the Centre asked. Now give us the benefit of that. Don’t snatch away the political voice from us by increasing the numbers in the way they want,” she said.

BJP Lok Sabha MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar responded that a 50 per cent increase across the southern states would ensure that the proportional representation of the South in the Lok Sabha remains largely intact while providing for more MPs. He stated that Karnataka would have 14 more seats. Wadiyar was keener on the allegations of potential gerrymandering. “Convenient excuses of gerrymandering are really useless in front of the people,” he argued, saying it did not have much effect on electoral outcomes.

Former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Rajya Sabha member K.R. Suresh Reddy put down the party bottom-line, which was to maintain the proportion of the South in Parliament. “Fix the ratio. What is today, let it remain,” Reddy said while contending that the number of seats in the legislative assembly be increased more to strengthen representation closer to voters.

TDP MP and parliamentary party leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu challenged the notion of making economic achievement a criterion for allocation of seats to states. If that were done in Telangana, he said, it would mean that the representation would be skewed in favour of richer Hyderabad and the rural areas would suffer.

Despite their political disagreements, the debate highlighted the main concern in relation to delimitation in the South: how to increase representation while maintaining the relative political power of the South within Parliament.