Chennai, Aug 2026 : The AIADMK and BJP on Wednesday opposed the special resolution moved by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on constituency delimitation, while stressing that any future exercise must ensure that the state’s existing political representation is not reduced.
Participating in the Assembly debate, AIADMK General Secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said delimitation was not inherently objectionable if undertaken to improve administrative efficiency. However, he maintained that Tamil Nadu should not be penalised for its success in controlling population growth.
Palaniswami said the AIADMK had already urged the Union government to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s present representation ratio during any future delimitation exercise. He also referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assurance that the state’s representation would not be reduced.
According to Palaniswami, protecting Tamil Nadu’s existing representation ratio could potentially lead to an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats allotted to the state. He said the state could see its representation rise from the present 39 seats to as many as 59 after delimitation.
The AIADMK leader argued that constituencies with exceptionally large electorates could be reorganised to improve administrative efficiency, provided the process did not adversely affect Tamil Nadu’s political representation.
Palaniswami also accused the TVK government of bringing the resolution for political reasons without adequate clarity on the proposed delimitation exercise and its possible consequences. He said the AIADMK would therefore oppose the resolution concerning delimitation while supporting the proposal related to greater representation for women.
BJP MLA M. Bhojarajan also opposed the resolution, questioning the urgency of adopting it when the proposed delimitation exercise was still under consideration at the national level.
Bhojarajan said constituency boundaries should evolve in accordance with demographic and administrative requirements and argued that society must remain prepared to accept reforms aimed at meeting the needs of future generations.
Referring to the newly constructed Parliament building, he said its design reflected India's anticipated future requirements. The BJP legislator maintained that the country should move forward with necessary reforms while ensuring that Tamil Nadu's interests and political representation remained protected.
Bhojarajan reiterated that delimitation was still at the proposal stage and questioned why the state government had chosen to adopt a resolution before the details of the exercise were finalised.
He also highlighted the BJP's support for enhancing women's political representation.
Both the AIADMK and BJP thus maintained that Tamil Nadu's interests must be protected in any future delimitation exercise. However, despite their concerns over safeguarding the state's representation, both parties made it clear that they would not support Chief Minister Vijay's special resolution.
