Delimitation debate rekindled at book launch by PM Museum’s Ravi K. Mishra

New Delhi: The freeze on expanding and reallocating Lok Sabha seats has distorted constitutional provisions and the democratic principle of equality of representation, a new book on delimitation launched on Saturday argues, underlining that north and western India were grossly underrepresented and the south over-represented.

Prime Minister Museum joint director Ravi K Mishra, who has authored the book “Demography, Representation, Delimitation: The North–South Divide in India”, has cited historical data showing southern states experienced population growth earlier than northern states, affecting current representation.

Mishra proposes expanding the number of Lok Sabha seats rather than redistributing the existing 543 seats based solely on population. “We should avoid a zero-sum political game. Increasing the number of seats to 728 or even 791 would ensure no state loses representation,” he said at the book launch at New Delhi’s India International Centre.

British economist and former Labour politician Lord Meghnad Desai, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Swapan Dasgupta, journalist Neerja Chowdhury, and academic C Raj Kumar were present at the launch.

The book’s publication coincides with concerns that the redrawing of Lok Sabha constituencies can widen the chasm between northern and southern states. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin has led the opposition to the delimitation scheduled for 2026 to redefine the number of lawmakers a state sends to the Lok Sabha based on population.

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The exercise is projected to increase the Lok Sabha strength to 668. Uttar Pradesh’s tally was expected to increase from 80 to 143. Tamil Nadu’s number could rise to just 49 from 39. The Union government has allayed fears, saying southern states will get a fair share of seats.

A joint action committee of four chief ministers and political parties last month urged the Union government to extend the freeze on the delimitation by another 25 years.

Mishra’s book examines trends through historical census data, political developments, and regional demographic patterns. It explores how the timing of demographic transitions in different regions has created representational imbalances. Mishra argues that constitutional amendments and past assumptions should not block current solutions. “These facts have been largely overlooked in the political debates on the subject,” he said.

“Most southern states had already grown rapidly for 90 years and were on the verge of exiting the peak phase of their demographic transition by the time family planning policies became important in the late 1960s,” Mishra said. “It was only around then that the north entered the peak growth phase.”

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Mishra said the average population per Lok Sabha constituency is 2.1 million in the south, 2.8 million in the west, and 3.1 million in the north.

He said the divide in representation is generally taught in terms of north versus south, but his study indicates that it is more like the south versus the rest.

Desai, who spoke at the launch, supported expanding Parliament, warning against imposing limitations at the start of discussions. “Do not start by saying, well, we have 545 seats now, but we cannot have more than 700 seats,” he said. “Those virtuous ones who limited their population will be punished, and those bad ones who did not will be rewarded. None of that.”

Desai called India a “multinational nation” and said every linguistic state thinks of itself as a nation. “And we are putting together a civilisation. So you have to respect the dignity of every nation and its right to be part of the Indian Union.”

Also Read: If govt is compelled to carry out delimitation, it should be on 1971 census: Siva

He dismissed concerns about affordability or feasibility. “This is a prosperous country... a successful democracy going to be a developed country. So there is absolutely no reason to say, ‘Oh, we are poor and we can’t afford this’,” he said.

Dasgupta said the issue had been politicised and challenged the opposition to delimitation. “Because you do not like a particular dispensation which is empowered at the Centre, you automatically assume that they are Hindi-speaking vegetarians. And that translated into this would make it… the south is going to be discriminated against,” he said.