Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday warned of a massive agitation in the state if its interests were harmed in the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats proposed by the Union government.

“If anything is done that harms Tamil Nadu or that disproportionately enhances the political power of northern states, we in Tamil Nadu will not remain silent,” the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief said on social media. “Tamil Nadu will rise. Tamil Nadu will register its protest with full force.”

The process of fixing the boundaries of electoral constituencies is called delimitation.

Stalin’s remarks came ahead of a special sitting of Parliament, which will begin on Thursday. During the session, the Union government will introduce bills to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 from 543.

Of these, 815 seats will be from the states and 35 from the Union Territories. Tamil Nadu currently has 39 seats in the Lower House of Parliament.

In his video message, Stalin noted that the bills will be introduced in Parliament on Thursday and accused the Union government of attempting to unilaterally proceed with the exercise without consulting any political party or any state government.

“This hurried attempt to push through delimitation is a blatant assault on democracy by the BJP government,” the DMK chief said. “More than that, it is a direct assault on the rights of states.”

Also read: Delimitation bill: Centre proposes to increase Lok Sabha seats to 850 from 543

Stalin said that his message “served two purposes: to speak about the grave danger that has now reached the very doorstep of Tamil Nadu, and to issue a clear warning to the Union BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government”.

The DMK chief added that this duty cannot be set aside even amid the campaigning for the Assembly elections in the state, which will be held on April 23. The votes will be counted on May 4.

He also noted that the special sitting of Parliament was “being forcibly convened in the midst of elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal”.

The polls in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29.

He added that the state government had consistently cautioned against the delimitation exercise.

“Not only in Tamil Nadu, but across India, we brought together chief ministers of states that stand to be affected, as well as leaders of major political parties, and convened a joint action committee meeting in Chennai,” he said.

In March 2025, a joint action committee of Opposition-ruled states led by Stalin had adopted a resolution against the proposed delimitation exercise.

The Tamil Nadu chief minister said that southern states had followed population control and family planning measures as advised by the Union government.

“Is this now the punishment for having done what was asked of us with discipline?” Stalin asked.

He added that there had been no response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to earlier demands for assurance in Parliament that southern states would not be harmed by delimitation.

Stalin also noted the lack of transparency about the exercise, saying that no explanation had been provided so far about the proposed constitutional amendment. “When such secrecy surrounds this process, it only strengthens the suspicion that grave danger lies beneath,” he added.

The chief minister said that “elections and the exercise of power are secondary to us”, adding that the rights of the states matter.

“If Tamil Nadu is affected, we will make the entire nation take notice,” Stalin said.

Telangana CM criticises delimitation bill

In a letter to the prime minister, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said on Tuesday that the women’s reservation, delimitation and the increase in the Lok Sabha seats were not inter-connected and that confusion was being created in the minds of the public.

Reddy said that the Congress supports the women’s reservation and demanded that the quota be immediately implemented in the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies.

Delimitations had been carried out in the past without changing the number of seats and “only changed boundaries of constituencies within states”, said the Telangana chief minister, adding that such an exercise can be undertaken.

Reddy said that the “real contentious issue” is the proposed increase in the Lok Sabha seats.

If the exercise is conducted on a pro rata basis, without considering economic contribution and socio and human development outcomes, it “will lead to a severe and irreversible distortion in federal balance”, he said.

Pro rata means allocating units proportionally based on a specific factor, such as quantity, rather than equally.

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