Bhubaneswar: Senior DMK leaders TRB Raaja and Dayanidhi Maran met BJD president and Odisha Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik at his residence in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. The leaders conveyed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s concerns over the proposed delimitation process and urged Patnaik to participate in discussions on the issue.
They also invited him to join the Joint Action Committee (JAC) opposing the Centre’s plan to base delimitation solely on population figures. Following the meeting, Patnaik agreed to attend the meeting convened by CM Stalin on March 22.
Speaking to the media after the discussion, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran described it as a “lovely meeting” and stated that Patnaik shared their concerns. “He understands that unfair delimitation will negatively impact our states. Seven states—Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and Punjab—will lose representation, while northern states will gain. These are progressive states that have controlled their population growth, and now they are being penalized for it. Naveen Patnaik has assured us that he will stand with us in this fight,” Maran said.
During their two-day visit to Odisha, the DMK delegation is also expected to meet Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das and other leaders. In its campaign against the proposed delimitation, the DMK has reached out not only to opposition leaders but also to NDA allies like Chandrababu Naidu. The party has also raised the issue in Parliament.
The Delimitation Debate
Delimitation is the process of redrawing the number of seats and boundaries of territorial constituencies for the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. It also determines the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
According to Articles 82 and 170 of the Constitution, this process takes place after each Census, under the authority of the Delimitation Commission, which is constituted through an act of Parliament. Delimitation exercises were previously conducted after the 1951, 1961, and 1971 Censuses.
Tamil Nadu CM Stalin has been vocal in his opposition to the proposed delimitation, arguing that states like Tamil Nadu, which have successfully implemented population control measures, should not be penalized with reduced representation in Parliament.
He has warned that the share of southern states in Parliament could drop from 26% to below 20%, while representation from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Haryana would increase. Stalin views this as an attempt by the BJP to consolidate its parliamentary strength.
The last delimitation was conducted in 1971, with a moratorium imposed for 30 years. Although it was due in 2001, the process was postponed for another 25 years by an act of Parliament, making 2026 the next scheduled delimitation year.
To build broader opposition against the proposal, DMK leaders plan to visit Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Punjab in the coming weeks.
