The five southern states of India have begun to push back against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over plans to redraw parliamentary constituencies.
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh fear the upcoming delimitation exercise will cut their political clout while boosting northern states where Modi’s BJP holds sway.
"Delimitation is a Damocles' sword hanging over southern India," warns Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, whose state assembly recently passed a resolution condemning the proposal.
The row hinges on India’s constitution, which requires seats be allocated based on population figures.
Since the last redistricting in 1971, southern states have successfully stemmed population growth while northern states have seen sharp rises.
Numbers Tell Tale of Two Indias Taking Form
The gap between north and south stretches well beyond politics. Southern states outshine their northern neighbours across key metrics.
In 2020-21, Karnataka boasted a per capita income of 236,451 rupees (ranked 5th nationally), while Uttar Pradesh recorded just 61,666 rupees (ranked 32nd). Bihar fell even lower at 43,605 rupees.
Meanwhile, the five southern states punch above their weight economically. Though making up only 18.2% of India’s population, they chip in nearly 30% of national GDP.
This economic heft hasn’t translated into commensurate political weight. When it comes to central finance commission payouts, southern states get much less than their Hindi-belt counterparts.
The five northern states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have taken home nearly three times more than southern states.
One Person, One Vote Principle at Stake
At the heart of the fight lies an ever-widening gap in voter representation.
In Uttar Pradesh, each MP speaks for about three million citizens, while in Kerala, an MP represents roughly 1.75 million. This means Kerala voters wield 1.7 times more influence than their Uttar Pradesh counterparts.
If the 2011 census becomes the basis for delimitation, four northern states — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — stand to gain 22 seats while four southern states would lose 17.
"The fact that it has been delayed for so long means that voters in every state are not represented the same for Lok Sabha elections," researcher Miheer Karandikar told Anadolu Agency. "A voter in Sikkim has hence three times more importance than one in Rajasthan."
This compromises the ‘one-person, one-vote principle.’
South Sees “Punishment for Progress” in Modi Plan
Southern leaders have taken a united stand against what Stalin calls “an unjust punishment” for their states’ success in curbing population growth and boosting economic output.
The Modi government has tried to cool tempers.
Home Minister Amit Shah assured southern states their representation would not be cut but gave no details, leaving many sceptical.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dismissed Shah’s promises as “untrustworthy” and accused Modi’s team of “malicious intent” against southern states.
More Than Politics Divides North and South
The political fight taps into deeper north-south tensions that have built up since Modi took power in 2014.
Southern states bristle at what they see as attempts to force Hindi down their throats through tweaks to school lessons and the renaming of laws. Tamil Nadu’s governor even floated changing the state’s name, further ruffling feathers.
The south has also pushed back against Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda, which has found little traction below the Vindhya mountains.
With their deep-rooted Hindu traditions but more harmonious relations with minority groups, southern states have kept the BJP largely at bay.
"We feel as much Indian as any other state in this country may feel," Dr Ramu Manivannan, former head of politics at Madras University, told Rediff.com. "At the same time, you have to understand and respect the cultural, political and historical issues of the making of this nation."
Can Modi Bridge the Widening Divide?
As election season nears, the battle lines have been drawn with delimitation set to be a key issue.
Experts have put forward several fixes: increasing the Lok Sabha seats to 848 so no state loses its current count; reforming the upper house to give equal weight to all states; or splitting large states to even out representation.
For now, southern leaders have dug in their heels, asking to freeze electoral boundaries for another 30 years beyond 2026.
The row goes to the core of how India sees itself. As a nation built on “unity in diversity,” the south-north split tests whether the world’s most populous democracy can hold true to this pledge.
Whatever Modi’s next move, finding a middle ground that keeps all sides on board will be the key to keeping the peace.
Failing this task would risk turning what Home Minister Shah once called “one nation” into two Indias growing ever further apart.
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