DMK hosts Opposition meet on delimitation today: 4 CMs, BJD and BRS to attend; TMC opts out

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who is behind the initiative, said the meeting would mark a “historic day for Indian federalism”. In a video message shared on social media on Friday, Stalin spoke about the stakes at hand, warning that states that have effectively managed their population growth and contributed to national progress must not be penalised by a skewed delimitation process. “It will strike at the very foundation of federalism in India,” he said. “It will erode the essence of democracy itself.”

The JAC meeting will begin at 10 am on Saturday at the ITC Grand Chola Hotel in Chennai and continue till noon. The attendees are scheduled to have lunch together before the event concludes. The CMs, the BJD representatives — former Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik and former minister Sanjay Das Burma —  and the BRS delegation led by its working president K T Rama Rao were expected to arrive in the city on Friday, with only Shivakumar set to reach Chennai on Saturday morning.

Among the key points on the agenda are taking steps to prolong the current delimitation framework, which is based on the 1971 Census, for an additional 30 years beyond 2026; drafting a resolution demanding a reconsideration of the 2026 delimitation process; exploring legal avenues to challenge any perceived unfairness; and mobilising public awareness campaigns in the states that are concerned about being affected.

“What started as Tamil Nadu’s initiative has now grown into a national movement,” Stalin said on Friday. “States across India are joining hands to demand fair representation. This is more than a meeting — it is the beginning of a movement that will shape the future of our country.”

Sources familiar with the preparations said the meeting was likely to focus on a coordinated legal and political strategy to counter the potential impact of the delimitation process. According to officials, discussions will explore constitutional challenges, petitions to the Supreme Court, and efforts to raise the issue at the national level, particularly within the Opposition INDIA bloc.

“Fair delimitation is not just about the number of MPs,” Stalin said. “It is about our states’ rights. Our voices in Parliament will be silenced. Our rights will be compromised. This is nothing short of a deliberate attempt to undermine certain states.”

The sentiment has found an echo in Telangana, where CM A Revanth Reddy has framed the issue as a battle for federal equity. In Karnataka, D K Shivakumar has said the issue transcends party affiliations, calling for a broader, national dialogue on the subject. The TMC-led West Bengal government, which is giving the meeting a miss, and the BJD have also signalled their concerns. The only southern state that will be absent is Andhra Pradesh, whose CM Chandrababu Naidu is a BJP ally.

Importance of the meeting

The meeting is being seen as a critical checkpoint in the larger battle over delimitation. The DMK leadership believes that after Saturday, the Centre can no longer take the issue lightly and hopes that the presence of multiple states at the table will signal the stakes and send a strong message that southern and eastern India will not passively accept an unfavourable outcome.

For the first time in some time, Tamil Nadu has taken the lead in an issue with national political ramifications. The importance of the meeting lies in its issue-based focus, rather than being driven by alliances. Even the INDIA bloc has not held such a high-profile meeting in Tamil Nadu, making this gathering all the more remarkable politically for the DMK as well as other non-BJP-ruled states.

While the JAC meeting is to assert that delimitation represents not just an electoral issue, but a battle over governance models, it also makes the argument that reducing the Lok Saba strength of the states attending the JAC will dilute their influence in policymaking and budgetary allocations, disproportionately benefiting the states that have lagged in governance metrics. Interestingly, the states joining JAC have traditionally led in economic development, education, healthcare, and social welfare policies.

The meeting follows an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu held on March 5, where 58 registered political parties excluding the BJP set aside ideological differences to endorse a collective stand on fair delimitation. Stalin’s outreach has since expanded the movement beyond Tamil Nadu, securing commitments from regional heavyweights across India.

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to go ahead with the JAC meeting even though Union Home Minister Amit Shah said last month in Coimbatore that the southern states would not lose a single parliamentary seat after delimitation. However, the DMK believes Shah’s statement is politically ambiguous as he did not make these promises in Parliament or any official forum but at a public meeting.

The delimitation process, which will be held after the next Census will redraw parliamentary constituencies based on updated population data. Many southern and eastern states, which have successfully implemented population control measures over the decades, are concerned about losing representation in Parliament while states where population growth has been higher will make gains. Critics argue that this could shift political power disproportionately in favour of the northern states, where the BJP holds sway, fundamentally altering the balance of power in India’s federal structure.