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Recently, the contentious issue of delimitation has once again sparked political tensions, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin calling it a “direct threat” to the state’s self-respect and constitutionally safeguarded federal rights.

As India approaches the 2026 deadline, concerns are mounting over how the redrawing of electoral boundaries will impact the balance of power, particularly between states, regionally marked by the northern and southern state-divide.

Delimitation, conducted by the Delimitation Commission, is intended to ensure fair representation but has remained frozen since 1976 to prevent states with lower population growth from losing political influence.

This freeze, extended by the 84th Amendment (2001), has meant that despite India’s growing population, parliamentary seat distribution continues to be based on 1971 Census data. With the restriction set to be lifted, the upcoming delimitation will rely on the first census held after 2026.

However, delays in the 2021 Census, initially due to COVID-19 and later administrative hurdles, have added uncertainty to the process, reviving debates over its implications. Beyond redrawing boundaries, delimitation also determines the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).

With the passage of the 106th Constitutional Amendment (2023) (Women’s Reservation Bill) the process will now also include reserving seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, adding another layer of complexity to an already contentious mapping exercise.

Federal breach and political anxieties

Over the past five decades, population growth in India has........

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