What’s delimitation? Why South Indian states are unhappy about it

An exercise to redraw India’s parliamentary constituencies based on a new census is threatening to deepen a regional divide between the north and the south and further strain the country’s federal structure. Recently, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin has gone on the offensive over the delimitation exercise which is likely to see southern states lose seats in parliament. In contrast, north Indian states will gain significantly.

Delimitation means drawing the boundaries of constituencies based on the population in the most recent census. India has done this exercise 4 times since independence and as per the Constitution, it is meant to be done every 10 years after the census. But in 1976, a constitutional amendment froze the process till after the census of 2001. This was further extended until after 2026. The last census was due to take place in 2021 but was first delayed by the pandemic and then for reasons that no one really knows.