States that stabilised population will not lose Lok Sabha seats: Modi

States that have stabilised their populations will not lose their Lok Sabha seats, and all States will benefit from a proposed increase in the size of the House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an election rally in Central Travancore in Kerala.

The Centre is planning amendments to the Constitution and relevant laws to redraw the electoral map of the country, with the size of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies to be increased by half, with a third of the total reserved for women, ahead of the 2029 general election. Parliament’s budget session is reconvening on April 16 to consider these amendments.

Mr. Modi was responding for the first time to concerns that States that have stabilised their populations would have their representation in the Lok Sabha reduced. The Prime Minister said the government wanted to address these concerns. “There are States — be it Kerala, Tamil Nadu, or others — that have done exemplary work in the field of population control. However, certain individuals are spreading misinformation, claiming that because their population growth has slowed, their parliamentary seat allocation will be reduced. We intend to provide a definitive guarantee regarding this matter in Parliament during this session. We wish to formally seal this assurance through legislation — ensuring that in no State — be it Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, or Telangana — will the number of Lok Sabha seats be reduced.”

Pathanamthitta district, where Mr. Modi spoke, has the lowest Total Fertility Rate — child births per thousand population — in the whole country. At 1.3, the district’s TFR is far below the replacement level of 2.1. In the last delimitation of 2008, the district’s representation in the Kerala Assembly was reduced from eight seats to five. Southern States have expressed fears that a population-based inter-State redistribution of Lok Sabha seats would disadvantage them.

Mr. Modi was campaigning for BJP candidate Anoop Antony in Thiruvalla, and other candidates from adjoining constituencies.

The existing laws require a fresh delimitation to be done following the Census after 2026, with States gaining or losing their proportionate strength in the Lok Sabha according to their share of the population, and one third of seats reserved for women. The Modi government now plans to amend the laws in order to start the delimitation exercise right away, and implement it ahead of the 2029 elections.

Though there is no official word on it yet, the government has told representatives of parties that the proportion of individual States in the Lok Sabha, which is currently based on the 1971 Census, will remain unchanged after the delimitation. Mr. Modi said seats will not be reduced, but did not specify whether he was referring to the absolute number of seats of individual States or their respective proportion.

“It is our government — and ours alone — that has granted 33% reservation for women in both the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. As you are all aware, instead of concluding the Budget Session as scheduled, we have extended it. Parliament is set to reconvene for three days — on April 16th, 17th, and 18th….we have two specific tasks to accomplish. The first objective is to provide this guarantee (with regard to the fear of States losing Lok Sabha seats); the second is to ensure that the seats reserved for women are created as additional seats, thereby increasing the total number of seats. This would confer a tremendous benefit upon our States in south India. It is for the purpose of enacting these legislative amendments that we have convened these sittings.”

Mr. Modi said the government was discussing the proposal with all parties. “We have extended an invitation to the members of the Congress party. I urge you, too — inform the public, speak to the Congress members, and convey this message to the LDF members: the legislation regarding women’s rights must be passed unanimously and without opposition. You must extract this promise from them; furthermore, I earnestly appeal to them myself — the rights of our mothers and sisters have remained in limbo for 40 years. They must not be left hanging once again during the 2029 elections. Therefore, I call upon the mothers and sisters of this nation to exert pressure on all political parties. Let everyone come to Parliament and ensure the passage of this vital legislation. With a view to increasing the representation of women in public office, necessary amendments will be incorporated into the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women’s Empowerment Act).”