Demarcation: Chidambaram, Sharmila tell Nara Lokesh to ‘redo math’ on southern states

TDP National Working President and Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh in conversation with The Hind Political Affairs Editor Nistula Hebbar. | Photo credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

TDP National Working President and Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Friday (May 22, 2026) questioned the Congress party’s opposition to the delimitation bill, arguing that the southern states could lose relative representation in Parliament once the constitutional freeze on seat allocation ends after the post-2026 census. P. Chidambaram on X, elicited a fresh response from Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president YS Sharmila.

Ms Sharmila said on X that Mr Lokesh was “trying to create confusion where there is none”. Congress consistently held that Southern states must not be punished for successfully implementing population control, she said, and the party opposed any delimitation that might reduce the South’s relative voice in Parliament “without firm constitutional guarantees.”

My young friend Mr. Nara Lokesh, Minister in Andhra Pradesh should do some math before talking about delimitation (Interview to THE HINDU)

Opposition parties opposed and defeated the constitutional amendment because the math showed that the five southern states would lose…

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 21, 2026

Merely increasing the total number of Lok Sabha seats would not protect the southern states, she said, because the real issue was relative representation and political influence under Article 81. Even if Andhra Pradesh were to gain seats, the proportional strength of the southern states could diminish against the more populous northern states. She also said that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which once championed federalism, is now defending the BJP’s position without seeking explicit guarantees for the South.

Sri Nara Lokesh garu is trying to create confusion where there is none.

The Congress Party has consistently argued that Southern states must never be penalized for successfully implementing population control and delivering better results in human development. It is… https://t.co/LaOEN4m48F

— YS Sharmila (@realyssharmila) May 22, 2026

Reacting to Congress leader P Chidambaram’s remarks on social media platform X, Mr Lokesh referred to Article 81 of the Constitution, which kept the allocation of Lok Sabha seats frozen on the basis of 1971 census data.

He pointed out that the constitutional freeze is due to end after the first post-2026 census, so a redistribution of parliamentary seats is inevitable.

According to Mr. Lokesh, every South Indian state would face a decline in relative representation compared to the northern states if redistribution of seats was done purely on the basis of population.

Dear Sir,

Under Article 81 of the Constitution of India, the distribution of seats in the House of People based on the 1971 census remained frozen. This constitutional freeze is due to end after the first post-2026 census.

Once the freeze is lifted,… https://t.co/RRBzaWgtfj

— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) May 22, 2026

The minister said that this demographic imbalance was a key concern consistently raised by the southern states and claimed that the NDA government had tried to address the issue through the delimitation bill and proposals for proportional increase in parliamentary seats for all states.

Questioning the Congress party’s position, Mr. Lokesh asked why it was opposing the delimitation bill in Parliament despite the constitutional implications for the southern states. He accused the Congress party of indulging in political posturing at the expense of the long-term interests of South India.

Mr. Lokesh further asked the Congress leadership to clarify what will happen after the 2026 census under the existing provisions of Article 81 and whether southern states will actually lose relative representation to northern states.

The Minister said that the Congress party owes a clear answer to the people of South India regarding its stand on delimitation and future parliamentary representation.

Posting late on Thursday (May 21, 2026), Mr. Chidambaram said: My young friend, Mr. Nara Lokesh, should look again at the mathematics of delimitation. Even if Andhra Pradesh gets more seats in the Lok Sabha, its relative representation will drop if Article 81 is implemented unchanged. Therefore, the southern states opposed the proposal. The success of population control should not become a political disadvantage.

Published – 22 May 2026 19:00 IST