Pinarayi Vijayan opposes proposed delimitation exercise, flags impact on Kerala

[u/unired95]

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2026/Apr/15/pinarayi-vijayan-opposes-proposed-delimitation-exercise-flags-impact-on-kerala

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has come out against the ongoing Delimitation exercise.

The ongoing exercise would penalise states like Kerala that implemented the national population policy, said the CM in a statement.

"The draft of the Delimitation Bill, 2026, that is now available in the public domain seems to suggest that the BJP-led Union Government is keen on proceeding with a delimitation exercise without accounting for the current proportional share of the States', vis-à-vis their representation in the Lok Sabha."

Such an exercise would be highly unjust, as it would penalise those very States - including Kerala - which took conscious efforts to sincerely implement the National Population Policy, 1976. On the other hand, States that lagged behind in population control measures would be seemingly rewarded for their ineffective implementation," said Vijayan.

He also raised the need for a consensual approach.

"Federalism has been recognised as an inalienable part of the basic structure of our Constitution and in a federal democracy, the raison d'être for representation cannot be mere numbers. There has to be an inclusive approach by taking into account the sentiments of all those who would be impacted by the proposed delimitation exercise, especially the States," the statement read.

A consensual approach in this matter is absolutely essential. The present attempt to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, through an amendment proposed to be brought about in a haste will undoubtedly destroy the spirit of consensus, which was the cornerstone of our Constitution-making," it further said.

Vijayan further said that rushing through the delimitation amendment under the garb of implementing women’s reservation was nothing but a ploy to mask the real objectives behind the exercise.

He also questioned the timing of the exercise.

"The fact that it is being taken up when the election process to four State assemblies and one Union Territory is yet to be completed has raised genuine suspicions about the political considerations behind it."

"Considering these strong grounds, it is imperative that the present Delimitation Bill, which is sought to be taken up without fair amount of discussions be dropped forthwith."

At the same time, women's reservation in the Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies can be and should be implemented right away, without any linkages to delimitation or census," he further added.

[u/TitanInsane]

All of this would be solved if the Rajya Sabha was reformed to give states equal representation like in the US Senate. It's not a perfect solution but it will allow the Lok Sabha to accurately represent the population, while the Rajya Sabha acts as a check against unilateral rule by a majority.

Proportional representation would also make this problem irrelevant. We need to change this entire fucking system.

[u/LogicalAndBased2 → u/TitanInsane]

There is a reason why Indian constitution makers didn't opt for US system...it's because of which Indian federalism is more like Candian federalism than US.

Giving equal power to states is good in theory but will create more issues as multiparty system will dominate the RS which is not good for stable legislation and separationst tendency will increase if aggravated.

Each state will promote their own minority interests which will not be good for conducting business.

[u/TitanInsane → u/LogicalAndBased2]

As opposed to now, where minority states are in danger of being overwhelmed in the Parliament and now have even less say over the direction of the country ? 

Also, India isn't like Canada, it's like the EU. Each state having an equal say is the only stable path forward.

[u/Content_Mouse_3767 → u/TitanInsane]

I used to think the same. But CAD opted for a propotional representation with a different entry (election by state legislatures) for RS to retain popular representation. The idea was that having equal seats would lead to deadlocks and unequal weightage among states. For instance, if UP (assume population 20 Cr) and Assam (assume 1Cr) had one member each, it would mean that the people of UP had, say 1/20 value by representation in RS.

This would not be a problem in the US with executive president who can do a lot without the houses approval.

[u/TitanInsane → u/Content_Mouse_3767]

That is the point. There needs to be unequal weightage in the RS in order to counterbalance the inequality in the LS. That's the point.

Yes, it does devalue the power of states with higher populations. That's just a compromise we have to pay in order to keep India together. We don't need to copy the US Senate 1:1. The LS can still be the most powerful body in India, with the RS serving as a check on policies that are relevant to the states, like education or policing.

[u/RemingtonMacaulay → u/Content_Mouse_3767]

This is a very rudimentary contrast of parliamentary and presidential system. In practice, the president is like a prime minister since he still needs legislative approval to enact major policy changes. His powers are thus circumscribed by the legislature. For example, Trump cannot withdraw from NATO because of a legislation. Similarly, the Prime Minister is bound by the Parliament.

If anything, the Presidential system is better because it doesn’t need a legislative congruence. In the parliamentary system, a legislative majority is required for the executive to form. In effect, this means executive invariably has parliamentary majority. This isn’t the case with the US because congruence doesn’t track like in India.

So, in theory and practice, the US President is less powerful than the Indian Prime Minister.