States that have stabilised their populations will not lose their Lok Sabha seats, and all States will benefit from a proposed increase in the size of the House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an election rally in Central Travancore in Kerala.
The Centre is planning amendments to the Constitution and relevant laws to redraw the electoral map of the country, with the size of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies to be increased by half, with a third of the total reserved for women, ahead of the 2029 general election. Parliament’s budget session is reconvening on April 16 to consider these amendments.
Ensuring federalism within delimitation
Mr. Modi was responding for the first time to concerns that States that have stabilised their populations would have their representation in the Lok Sabha reduced. The Prime Minister said the government wanted to address these concerns. “There are States — be it Kerala, Tamil Nadu, or others — that have done exemplary work in the field of population control. However, certain individuals are spreading misinformation, claiming that because their population growth has slowed, their parliamentary seat allocation will be reduced. We intend to provide a definitive guarantee regarding this matter in Parliament during this session. We wish to formally seal this assurance through legislation — ensuring that in no State — be it Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, or Telangana — will the number of Lok Sabha seats be reduced.”
