Share delimitation plans, freeze current LS strength for 25 years: Kharge to PM

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday, 27 August urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share the government's proposals on delimitation with all political parties and called for a 25-year freeze on the Lok Sabha's existing strength of 543 seats, along with one-third reservation for women from the 2029 elections.

In a letter to Modi, Kharge called for an all-party meeting to discuss the government's proposed delimitation exercise and sought adequate time for political parties and state governments to study the proposals before they are introduced in Parliament.

Kharge said he had written to Modi on 16 July, requesting an all-party meeting to discuss the government's plans for delimitation.

'I had also requested you to give all political parties adequate time to study such proposals in detail before they are introduced in any special session of Parliament that you may be contemplating,' he said.

'I am writing now to reiterate this request since the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs has publicly stated in a television interview last night that such a special session of Parliament could well be convened,' Kharge said.

He added that this could explain the continued delay in the prorogation of the monsoon session.

Kharge said the Congress's position was clear: the existing strength of the Lok Sabha should remain at 543 for another 25 years; the existing state-wise allocation of Lok Sabha seats should also be maintained for 25 years; and one-third reservation for women should be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

'Before you go ahead as indicated by the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, I wish to reiterate my earlier request to you to — convene an all-party meeting to discuss whatever delimitation proposals you have in mind; give all political parties and state governments adequate time to study such proposals,' he said.

Calling the issue one of 'enormous significance for the country', Kharge urged the government not to rush the process. 'Please do not again try and bulldoze as you attempted on April 16 and 17, 2026,' he said in his letter.

The Congress has raised both demands previously. In a resolution passed earlier this month, the Congress Working Committee reiterated its call for retaining the existing strength and state-wise allocation of Lok Sabha seats for 25 years and implementing 33 per cent reservation for women from the 2029 elections.

The Opposition party had also dismissed as 'drama' Modi's appeal to Opposition parties to support legislation linked to delimitation and the implementation of women's reservation. The Congress had alleged that the prime minister's 'single point agenda' was 'Modi preservation, not women's reservation'.

The delimitation issue is politically sensitive because a fresh exercise based on population could alter the distribution of Lok Sabha seats among states. Southern states, which have generally performed better in population control, have expressed concern that they could lose relative representation if seats are redistributed primarily on the basis of population.

The Constitution provides for delimitation after each Census, but the allocation of seats among states has remained frozen since the 1970s. The existing freeze was extended until the first Census after 2026 by the 84th Constitutional Amendment in 2001.

The issue has acquired renewed urgency as the next delimitation exercise is expected to be linked to the first Census conducted after 2026. The government has yet to publicly set out a comprehensive proposal on how the exercise would affect the strength and state-wise distribution of Lok Sabha seats.

During the Budget session on 17 April, the Modi government faced a setback when a Constitution amendment Bill linked to delimitation and the implementation of women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies was defeated in the Lower House.

Of the 528 MPs who voted, 298 supported the Bill while 230 opposed it. The legislation required the support of at least two-thirds of the members voting to pass the constitutional amendment.

With PTI inputs