Are northern states flipping the ‘injustice' narrative? Kushwaha's call for delimitation says so
Written by Mrityunjay Sharma
Upendra Kushwaha, leader of the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), a constituent of the NDA, recently launched his campaign for the upcoming Bihar elections from Muzaffarpur. While this marks the usual pre-election show of strength, aimed at bargaining for a larger share of seats before the NDA finalises its seat-sharing arrangement, what drew attention was the name of his rally: Samvaidhanik Adhikar–Parisiman Sudhar (Constitutional Rights–Delimitation Reform).
Addressing the rally, Kushwaha advocated for delimitation. He said that had the process been carried out on time, the number of Lok Sabha seats in Bihar would have increased to around 60, thereby boosting representation for Scheduled Castes and women. He also warned of launching an agitation against what he termed a 'gross injustice' to the state.
This appears to be the first significant mention of delimitation by a political leader at a public rally in the Hindi heartland. While the issue has been debated in Parliament and among policy experts, it hasn't entered the mainstream political narrative ahead of the decisive year, 2026, when the freeze on delimitation elapses.
Delimitation, which is supposed to follow each decennial census, has been postponed twice — first in 1976 and again in 2001, each time for 25 years. Many speculate that the Centre may continue this delay, fearing severe backlash from the southern states, which would possibly lose a few Lok Sabha seats. However, others believe that, given the Modi government's track record of addressing long-pending and contentious issues head-on, delimitation may indeed be on the cards. The last amendment in 2001 mentioned that delimitation may be carried out following a Census conducted after 2026. The recent announcement of the decennial census to be conducted in 2026–27 fulfils this condition and further strengthens the belief that delimitation is imminent.
Delimitation, as envisaged in Article 82 of the Constitution, refers to the process of restructuring Parliamentary constituencies to ensure that each represents an approximately equal population. The data used for this purpose must be from the most recent census. The suspension of this process since 1976, intended to promote family planning and reward states that effectively curbed population growth, has led to massive discrepancies. For example, a Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh today represents an average of 30 lakh people, whereas a Tamil Nadu MP represents only 18 lakh people. This violates the principle of 'one person, one vote,' a cornerstone of democratic representation. The imbalance has implications not just for representation but also for the equitable delivery of basic services.
Milan Vaishnav and Jamie Hinston, in one of their research papers, project state-wise populations to 2026 and evaluate the potential impact of reallocation using a method proposed by McMillan. This approach suggests expanding the total size of the Lok Sabha so that no state loses seats under the new distribution. Based on 2026 projections, this would increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats to 848. The biggest beneficiaries would be Uttar Pradesh (which would go from 80 to 143 seats) and Bihar (which would nearly double from 40 to 79). It's no surprise, then, that the strongest demands for delimitation are emerging from these two states.
The biggest loser would be Kerala, which wouldn't gain any additional seats beyond its current tally of 20. Other South Indian states would gain marginally, nothing compared to the gains by northern states. According to the leaders of the Southern states, they should not be penalised for successfully curbing population growth, especially when compared to high-growth states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They aren't wrong, either. While the southern states have reduced their TFR (total fertility rate) to 1.5, much below the population replacement rate of 2.1, Bihar is still growing with a TFR of around 3.
In recent years, some parties in the South have tapped into anti-North Indian sentiments to consolidate support, raising issues such as skewed financial devolution, northern migrants taking away local jobs, and threats to local culture. Recent clashes over language in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu are a testament to these growing tensions.
It will be interesting to see if parties in North India are now going to flip the narrative, accusing the South of unfairly benefiting from a frozen system that denies Northern states their rightful share of representation. While such a move could deepen the North–South divide, it could also become a political tool to rally regional identities and demand equitable representation.
In the upcoming Bihar elections, while Chirag Paswan pushes the slogan of 'Bihar First, Bihari First', the Congress focuses on caste census and representation, and Tejashwi Yadav attacks the failures of the Nitish government, it remains to be seen whether Upendra Kushwaha's call for delimitation will resonate with voters, or whether it will be drowned out by more conventional electoral issues.
The writer is a BJP Leader and author of Broken Promises: Caste, Crime and Politics in Bihar
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
United News of India
19 minutes ago
- United News of India
U.S. marines move into Los Angeles amid protests over immigration raids
Los Angeles, June 14 (UNI) About 200 U.S. marines have been deployed to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States, to protect a federal building there, the military said on Friday, after a week of protests over the current administration's immigration raids in the city. U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, commander of the Task Force 51, which includes more than 4,000 California Army National Guard soldiers and about 700 marines, said at a press briefing that those marines had completed civil disturbance training. But Sherman said the marines will not participate in law enforcement activities. Some of the marines were seen standing guard outside the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles area. The 17-story federal building on Wilshire Boulevard is home to many of Los Angeles' federal offices, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Los Angeles field office. U.S. President Donald Trump has made decisions to dispatch over 4,000 National Guard members and about 700 active-duty marines to the Los Angeles area despite the objection of California Governor Gavin Newsom and other local officials. About 2,800 service members, including 2,100 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines, were deployed to the greater Los Angeles area, said U.S. Northern Command in a news release on Wednesday, adding that the Marines had completed required training and would be serving alongside National Guard soldiers within the next 48 hours. The Marines were reportedly undergoing civil disturbance training at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach in Orange County, located south of Los Angeles. The Trump administration won a swift legal victory on Thursday night when a federal appeals court blocked a lower court's order issued just hours earlier that would have returned 4,000 California National Guard troops to state control, allowing the military deployment in Los Angeles to continue. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency stay just hours after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Thursday evening that Trump had illegally federalized California's National Guard and violated the Constitution. The appellate court's new order not only allows the National Guard troops to continue operating under federal command but also indicates that the legal battle between Washington and the Golden State will continue. The dramatic legal reversal capped a day of courtroom confrontation between the Trump administration and California over the unprecedented federal takeover of state military forces. Hundreds of people have been arrested in Southern California since the protests over federal immigration enforcement started a week ago, with more protests planned in the coming weekend across the region and the country. UNI XINHUA ARN
India Gazette
41 minutes ago
- India Gazette
One Nation One Election will open new avenues, speed up country's development: Kalraj Mishra
New Delhi [India] June 14, (ANI): Endorsing the One Nation One Election (ONOE) initiative, senior BJP leader and former Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra has said it will not only reduce election-related expenses but also speed up the country's development by opening new avenues. Addressing an event at the Constitution Club in the national capital on Friday evening, Mishra said Lok Sabha and assembly polls were done simultaneously without any hiccup till 1967, since the first polls in independent India in 1952, as everyone was in support of simultaneous polls, be it the then ruling Congress or Communist parties. 'Everyone supported it, beyond political affiliations, be it then Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru or, Communist leaders...,' the former union minister said. He said the trend was 'broken' due to many reasons. 'It was broken as some new states were formed, and their assembly elections were held... then ruling Congress dismissed the opposition ruled state governments by misusing Article 356; general elections were preponed in 1972... term of Lok Sabha was also increased by an year to 6 years during Emergency...,' said Mishra said, who was the Governor of Rajasthan from 2019 to 2024. Simultaneous polls across the country will significantly reduce poll expenditure and manpower. This is not about any political party, ONOE is 'essential for the country's development,' he stressed. Mishra said it is fully 'according to the Constitution' and said the opposition parties should be asked which schedule of the Constitution forbids the ONOE. The senior leader recalled that even in 1983, the Election Commission felt the need to rethink on the simultaneous polls and said it was essential for the country. He said NITI Aayog in 2016, and other government commissions have also endorsed the ONOE. The 129th Constitutional Amendment Bill for simultaneous national and assembly polls was tabled in the Lok Sabha in December last. It was later referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. The Modi government had formed a High-level Committee on simultaneous Elections, under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind, who submitted over 18,000-page report to President Droupadi Murmu in March last year. Earlier, the former governor condoled the loss of lives in the deadly crash of London-bound Air India plane in Ahmedabad on Thursday. He also remembered the former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani who also died in the deadly crash. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft was carrying 242 passengers and crew members, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national. (ANI)
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Karnataka Congress Bets Big On Fresh Caste Survey, Toes Party High Command's Line
Last Updated: With the contentious Kantharaj report now in cold storage, the government hopes to complete the new caste survey within 60 to 90 days, as demanded by the Congress high command With dominant communities pushing back and AHINDA groups demanding delivery, the Congress government in Karnataka is betting on a fresh survey to help Siddaramaiah regain control over the caste arithmetic and consolidate support across competing blocs ahead of key political battles. With the contentious Kantharaj report now in cold storage, the government hopes to complete the new caste survey within 60 to 90 days, as demanded by the Congress high command. Sources told News18 that the Congress high command cited the example of Telangana, which completed its caste survey in just 70 days. 'So the Karnataka government can also complete it quickly. Much of the base data already exists with the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, and only an update with a decade's gap and inclusion of those left out needs to be added, which should make the process faster," a senior official said. Chief minister Siddaramaiah clarified that this will be a fresh, legally mandated enumeration, as the law requires a new survey every ten years. The earlier caste survey was carried out in 2015 through a house-to-house exercise covering 54 parameters. It began on April 11 and concluded on May 30 that year. At the time, Karnataka's population was 6.11 crore as per the 2011 Census and was projected to touch 6.35 crore by 2015. The survey managed to cover 5.98 crore people, with 1.6 lakh personnel involved, of whom 1.33 lakh were teachers, Siddaramaiah said. At recent cabinet meetings, Siddaramaiah told his ministers to submit their views on the caste survey in writing, encouraging open but non-confrontational discussion. Those opposing the report flagged issues related to population figures, criteria for backwardness, and the methodology used in assessing economic and educational indicators. Siddaramaiah assured them that any discrepancies would be addressed collectively. 'This report is meant to help all communities—even those now opposing it," he said. But now, that very report stands effectively shelved. CM Siddaramaiah said that the Congress high command had summoned him and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, to Delhi, where they were advised that the existing Kantharaj report, being ten years old, no longer reflected the current social realities. The views of the commission's current chairman, Madhusudhan Nayak, will also be factored into the process. 'Over ten years, a lot has changed. The law allows for a fresh exercise after this period. The high command was clear: the report must reflect today's reality," the CM said. In the Delhi meeting—attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi—the leadership instructed that a new enumeration be conducted within 60–90 days. AICC general secretary KC Venugopal told the media that the survey would be expedited and that inclusivity of all communities was a priority for the party. Opposition to the Kantharaj report has not only come from the BJP but also from within the Congress. Some party leaders have strongly objected to the findings of the decade-old caste survey. Siddaramaiah said the decision for a fresh survey was directed by the Congress high command, and a special cabinet meeting convened to take a final call on the contentious backward classes commission report approved it. Earlier, multiple cabinet meetings on the caste survey discussion were held, many of which saw sharp divisions within the Congress itself. Ministers from the Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities insisted that the previous report was flawed and demanded it be discarded in favour of a fresh one. These dominant groups had already opposed the Kantharaj report publicly, calling it biased, and some cited improper methodology. Congress ministers from AHINDA communities—representing minorities, backward classes, and Dalits—pushed for the immediate implementation of the original report prepared by Kantharaj and later revised by Jayaprakash Hegde, who at first headed the backward class commission during the BJP rule and submitted the final report to the Congress government in 2024. Siddaramaiah did not hold back in blaming former CM and now union minister HD Kumaraswamy for blocking the original caste survey report when it was ready to be submitted after his first tenure as chief minister, when he commissioned the study. The report could not be tabled before his tenure ended in 2018. When the Congress-JD(S) coalition came to power and Kumaraswamy became CM, the report was ready. The then backward classes minister, Puttaranga Shetty, was approached by chairman H Kantharaj and other commission members to formally receive it. 'But Kumaraswamy pressured Puttaranga Shetty not to accept it. He stalled it. That's the truth," Siddaramaiah said, holding the JD(S) leader responsible for derailing the process. Once Kantharaj's term ended, the BJP government appointed Jayaprakash Hegde as the new chairman. Siddaramaiah pointed out that all commission members were BJP appointees. Hegde submitted his revised version of the report with fresh recommendations on February 29, 2024. 'Kantharaj was also present at the time of submission," he added. The CM said the report couldn't be discussed due to the Lok Sabha elections. After his government returned to power, it was placed before the cabinet in 2025. About the Author Rohini Swamy Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18's digital platform. She has previously worked with More First Published:
