Shah: South India seats rising to 195 under delimitation

Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Lok Sabha that the upcoming delimitation exercise will not reduce the parliamentary seat count of southern states, directly countering fears that population-based redistricting would shift political weight toward more populous northern states. Shah stated that seats allocated to the five southern states will increase from 129 to 195 under the new delimitation, framing critics as spreading misconceptions born of misunderstanding the process. The reassurance was specifically directed at Tamil Nadu, where Shah said the state's political influence is expanding, not contracting. The statement addresses a long-standing concern among southern states: because they managed population growth more effectively over decades, a straight population-based seat reallocation could disproportionately reward northern states in parliament. Whether the increase in raw seat numbers translates into a maintained or improved share of total Lok Sabha seats relative to high-population northern states is the figure opposition parties and analysts will scrutinize most closely as delimitation details emerge.