‘False narrative’: Amit Shah rejects claims that delimitation will weaken southern states

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday told the Lok Sabha that the number of seats in the House of Representatives of five southern states will be increased from 129 to 195 once the Lok Sabha expansion plan comes into effect.Addressing a debate on the amendments related to women’s reservation and the proposed delimitation framework, Shah said the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha would be increased to 816 seats, although the legislation mentioned a ceiling of 850 seats as the number was rounded. He explained that 816 seats represents an increase of precisely 50% from the current 543 electoral seats.

“Karnataka will increase its Lok Sabha seats to 42 from the current 28; in Andhra Pradesh, the Lok Sabha seats will increase from 25 to 38; Telangana will increase to 26 from the current 17; in Tamil Nadu, the Lok Sabha seats will increase to 59 from the current 39; and in Kerala, it will decrease to 30 from the current 20 seats,” Shah said while detailing the revised figures for the southern states.He added that the combined share of the southern states in the Lok Sabha will rise slightly to 23.87% from the current 23.76%, taking the total share to nearly 24%.Rejecting opposition accusations that the government may be manipulating the demarcation exercise, Shah said the current bill reflected earlier legal provisions introduced by previous governments. “The delimitation bill is exactly the same as the law your government proposed before. There are no changes, not even a comma or a period,” he said.Regarding the female reservation measures, Shah clarified that the quota will not come into effect immediately and will only be applicable from the 2029 general elections. Until then, every election, including the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, will continue under the existing electoral structure, he said.Shah addressed Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav directly: “Akhilesh ji, even if you are not going to win the Uttar Pradesh elections, you don’t have to worry,” he said.He also dismissed suggestions that the timing of the women’s reservation bill was tied to the upcoming West Bengal elections.Regarding the caste census, Shah said the government has approved the caste census and it will be conducted concurrently with the census process. Referring to the Samajwadi Party’s criticism, he said: “Currently, the household enumeration is going on and the households do not have any caste. If the Samajwadi Party gets its way, it will also decide the caste of the family,” he said.The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026 are currently under consideration in the Lok Sabha. According to the proposed framework, the enlarged Lok Sabha will have 816 members, including 272 seats reserved for women, equivalent to one-third of the seats in the House of Representatives.