On Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly passed two resolutions moved by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government, expressing opposition to the planned delimitation exercise for the revision of electoral constituencies in 2026 and the proposed ‘One nation, One election’ policy by the Centre.

In his speech after moving the resolutions, Stalin said the only way to ensure that Southern states, which implemented population control measures with utmost sincerity, were not “penalized” was to maintain the “present ratio” of Parliament and Assembly constituencies in states which were fixed based on the 1971 Census by amending the Constitution.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin termed the delimitation exercise a 'punishment' for states with smaller population.

"The delimitation exercise is a 'punishment' for states that have a smaller population. The number of constituencies in both the houses of Parliament and in the Assemblies are cut down for such states that reduce population," he said.

"We can't accept delimitation based on the census...Due to unavoidable reasons, if the number of seats based on population were to increase, it would be maintained at the present ratio of the constituencies between the states in the state assemblies and both houses of parliament fixed based on the population of 1971," he said.

The discussion on delimitation, which involves the rearrangement of assembly and parliamentary constituency boundaries to reflect population changes, gained renewed attention following the approval of the women's reservation bill in Parliament in September of the previous year. The Union government indicated that the implementation of the law would occur after the completion of the delimitation process in 2026, based on the pending decadal census from 2021. The freeze on delimitation, extended until 2026 by the 84th amendment to the Constitution in 2001, has contributed to the current scenario.

Southern states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala fear their political representation might reduce if the exercise was held, citing that they sincerely implemented pollution control measures.

The issue has also taken the dimension of “financial atrocities” against the South, with the LDF-led Kerala and Congress-led Karnataka governments recently holding agitations in the Capital over the sharing of resources by the Centre with them. The Tamil Nadu government, led by the DMK in alliance with the Congress, lent its support to the two agitations.

The second resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday was against the BJP’s push for ‘One Nation, One Election’. The resolution stressed the importance of conducting elections for local bodies, state Assemblies, and Parliament at different times, saying these were necessary to uphold “the principle of democratic decentralisation” and to cater to people-centric issues in a vast and diverse country like India.

Stalin emphasized that the 'One nation, One election' concept contradicted the Constitution's fundamental features, posing a threat to the guarantee of independent, free, and fair elections in the country.

"The ‘One nation, One election’ is out-and-out impractical, and it is against the basic feature of the Constitution. It is fully opposed to the Constitutional guarantee of independent, free and fair polls," the Chief Minister said.

The proposal may lead to the dissolution of state assemblies in advance, which is against the Constitution, the DMK chief said. “If the government at the Centre is to fall, will all state assemblies be dissolved?” he asked. “Similarly, if governments in a few states were to be short-lived, will those in power at the Centre demit office?”

The Chief Minister emphasized that the authority to conduct local elections falls within the jurisdiction of the state government, and any assertion to the contrary would encroach upon the rights of the state.

A high-level committee, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, is presently engaged in discussions with multiple political parties regarding the proposal of ‘One nation, One election’. 

Image source: ANI