Hyderabad, Apr 14 (TNT): Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday urged Chief Ministers of southern states to unite against the Centre’s proposed pro-rata model for increasing Lok Sabha seats, warning it would weaken their political representation.
In separate letters to his counterparts, including N. Chandrababu Naidu, M. K. Stalin, Siddaramaiah, Pinarayi Vijayan and Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, the Chief Minister said the proposal to expand Lok Sabha strength to around 850 seats using a pro-rata basis would be detrimental to southern states and disturb the federal balance.
He noted that while all states may witness an increase in absolute seats, the relative gap between states would widen significantly, reducing the influence of southern states in Parliament.
Citing examples, he said Andhra Pradesh could rise from 25 to around 38 seats, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry together from 40 to about 60, Karnataka from 28 to around 42, and Kerala from 20 to about 30, while Uttar Pradesh could increase from 80 to about 120 seats, thereby widening the disparity in representation.
Revanth Reddy reiterated that three issues—Women’s Reservation, delimitation and increase in Lok Sabha seats—are being wrongly linked, and stressed support for women’s reservation without tying it to seat expansion.
He argued that southern states, despite their contributions in population control, public health and economic growth, would be structurally disadvantaged under a pro-rata model, leading to dilution of their political voice.
The Chief Minister also flagged concerns over financial devolution, stating that the proposed changes would add political injustice to existing economic imbalances.
As an alternative, he proposed a hybrid model under which half of the additional seats would be allocated based on population and the remaining half based on economic contribution (GSDP) and performance criteria.
Calling for coordinated action, Revanth Reddy urged all southern leaders to collectively oppose the move and ensure fair representation at the national level.
TNT TS
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