Speaking in the Lok Sabha on the women’s reservation and delimitation issue, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has sought to counter opposition claims that the proposed Constitution Amendment Bill, the two delimitation‑related laws and changes to the constituency‑election framework will weaken the political standing of southern states. He said the “biggest narrative” circulating about the South being disadvantaged is factually incorrect, and provided seat‑wise projections to back his argument.
Amit Shah noted that Karnataka, which currently has 28 seats out of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies (about 5.15%), would see its tally rise to 42 seats in the new, expanded House, pushing its share to roughly 5.44%. In Andhra Pradesh, seats are projected to increase from 25 (4.60%) to 37, resulting in a 4.65% share. Telangana’s representation is expected to grow from 17 seats (3.13%) to 26 (3.18%), while Tamil Nadu will go from 49 seats (7.18%) to 59 seats (7.23%). Kerala’s strength is shown rising from 20 (3.68%) to 30 (3.67%).
If one aggregates all southern states on the current 543‑seat structure, the five states together elect 129 MPs, or 23.76% of the House; under the new formula, the same states are projected to hold 195 seats out of 816, which works out to 23.97%. The government is using this data to argue that, far from harming the South, the package would actually enhance the region’s weight in the Lok Sabha while enabling the 33% women’s‑quota plan.
Key highlights
Amit Shah says proposed bills will not weaken the South’s Lok Sabha strength.
Karnataka’s share is projected to rise from 5.15% to about 5.44%.
Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala all see higher absolute and near‑stable or improved proportional strength.
Combined South‑state share is projected to increase from 23.76% to 23.97%.
Government frames the package as both pro‑women‑quota and favourable for southern‑state representation.
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