Congress opposes Naidu, says promise of 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats was not part of delimitation bill

NEW DELHI 18/04/2026 Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jairam Ramesh address a press conference at AICC in Delhi on Saturday. / The Hindu | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

In response to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s comments criticizing the opposition for not supporting the delimitation bill despite the government’s assurance that each state’s strength in the Lok Sabha would increase by 50%, the Congress pointed out that no such amendment had ever been tabled by the government.

In a post quoting Mr Naidu’s interview with the daily, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the Andhra Pradesh chief minister was being “unfair” to the opposition. He added that on April 16, the TDP had proposed an amendment to the Delimitation Act proposing a across-the-board 50% increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for all states while maintaining the current proportionality.

In a post on X, Mr. Ramesh said, “But the super confident, super arrogant Union Home Minister never actually brought such an amendment as the TDP demanded. That is the REAL question – what tricky games was self-proclaimed Chanakya – who stood brutally exposed on the evening of April 17, 2026, playing?”

Mr. Naidu was quoted as saying that the government’s intention was clear from the beginning and that it had declared on the floor of the House that there would be a 50% increase in seats between states without changing the ratio of seats. He said that it was only an omission of the text of the bill and that the opposition had unnecessarily made an issue of it.

Mr. Ramesh also took a swipe at the TDP, pointing out that the Andhra Pradesh-based party was no longer the NDA’s biggest ally. “Now the TDP has been overshadowed by the obscure Nationalist Civic Party of India,” he said.

Published – 16 Jun 2026 20:22 IST