'Freeze seats for 25 years': Congress backs Vijay-led Tamil Nadu govt's delimitation stand

Times of India Published Aug 21, 2026 Reviewed Aug 21, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors

The Congress party wants the existing allocation of Lok Sabha seats to be maintained for another 25 years, with no change to the current strength of 543 seats or Tamil Nadu’s 39 constituencies.

25 years · Congress party543 seats · Lok Sabha39 constituencies · Tamil Nadu P Chidambaram, former Union minister and senior Congress leader

The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a special resolution urging the Centre to permanently retain the Lok Sabha’s strength at 543 seats.

543 seats · Lok Sabha Tamil Nadu Assembly, legislative body

The Tamil Nadu Assembly’s government-sponsored resolution called for a 33 percent reservation for women in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, to be implemented without delay based on the existing strength of 543 seats.

33 percent · women reservation2029 year · Lok Sabha elections Tamil Nadu Assembly, legislative body

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay warned that southern states could lose parliamentary representation if seats are redistributed primarily on the basis of population under the Delimitation Bill, 2026.

2026 year · Delimitation Bill Joseph Vijay, Chief Minister

The freeze on the allocation of Lok Sabha seats based on the 1971 Census is approaching its end.

1971 year · Census Joseph Vijay, Chief Minister

Vijay sought assurance from the Centre that states that had successfully stabilised their populations would not be penalised through a reduction in their parliamentary representation.

Joseph Vijay, council vice-chairman

Former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Friday that the party wants the existing allocation of Lok Sabha seats to be maintained for another 25 years, with no change to the current strength of 543 seats or Tamil Nadu’s 39 constituencies.Chidambaram added that the resolutions passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Congress Working Committee on delimitation reflected the same position.“The resolutions passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Congress Working Committee regarding the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies reflect the same stance.

There should be no change to the current Lok Sabha strength of 543 seats or Tamil Nadu’s allocation of 39 constituencies. The Congress party’s position is that the current seat allocations should be maintained for another 25 years,” Chidambaram said in a post on X.“It is gratifying that both the ruling party (TVK) and the principal opposition party (DMK) in Tamil Nadu support this stance,” he added.The development comes a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay raised concerns over the proposed Delimitation Bill, 2026, warning that southern states could lose parliamentary representation if seats are redistributed primarily on the basis of population.Speaking at the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, Vijay, who is also the council’s vice-chairman, sought an assurance from the Centre that states that had successfully stabilised their populations would not be penalised through a reduction in their parliamentary representation.He said the issue had assumed importance as the freeze on the allocation of Lok Sabha seats based on the 1971 Census approaches its end."As the freeze on the allocation of Lok Sabha seats based on the 1971 Census approaches its end and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, is considered, there is a genuine and shared concern across the Southern States that delimitation based predominantly on populations may diminish our collective voice in Parliament," he said.Vijay said southern states had successfully controlled population growth while making progress in human development and economic growth.

He argued that these achievements should not lead to a reduction in their political representation.The Tamil Nadu Assembly had earlier passed a special resolution urging the Centre to permanently retain the Lok Sabha’s strength at 543 seats.The government-sponsored resolution also called for the 33 per cent reservation for women to be implemented in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections without delay, based on the existing strength of 543 seats.Get the latest India News and Live updates.

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