The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to increase the number of parliamentary constituencies, was defeated in Lok Sabha on April 17. Thereafter, the Union government withdrew two other bills, including one related to the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. The delimitation bill generated significant political debate across the country, especially in Tamil Nadu.

In parliament, the BJP linked delimitation with women’s reservation, as it sought to put opposition parties in a fix – opposing it would invite the charge of being against women’s reservation. But how did these debates and strategies influence the election campaigns in Tamil Nadu? What explained the opposition to the delimitation bill in the first place?

S. Venkatesan, Member of Parliament from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), representing the Madurai constituency in Lok Sabha, delivered a strong intervention in Parliament opposing the delimitation bill. Speaking to The Wire, he elaborated on the reasons and how its proposals were linked with the BJP’s political tactics in Tamil Nadu. Edited excerpts from the interview:

During the Tamil Nadu assembly election campaign, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parties claimed that Tamil Nadu Members of Parliament have joined hand to defeat the women’s reservation bill. How would you respond to the allegation?

No one in India opposed the women’s reservation bill. In fact, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government brought that law in parliament two years ago, only two members opposed it. All political parties expressed their support. However, I see what is being claimed about Tamil Nadu parties as a very deliberate and subtle conspiracy by the BJP to link women’s reservation with delimitation and the census.

There is no objection from anyone to women’s reservation in the very next election, based on the current number of parliamentary seats. There is absolutely no connection between women’s reservation and delimitation. By linking this reservation with the very complicated delimitation plan, the BJP’s intention that women should not get reservation has been exposed. The NDA alliance’s false propaganda will not work among the people. All people of the country, including Tamil Nadu, know that the women’s reservation bill was passed in Parliament in 2023.

Why do you think the BJP........

© The Wire