BJP Likely To Introduce Delimitation Bill in New Avatar

By Pranjal Gupta

New Delhi, June 1: After suffering an embarrassment with the Women's Reservation and Delimitation bill package being defeated by the opposition parties in Lok Sabha, the Home Ministry is now reportedly rewriting it to push it through with the One Nation One Election Bill.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to convince the Opposition and subsequently fell short of the mandatory two-thirds majority required for enacting the proposed law on delimitation. While the opposition claimed that delimitation was being introduced with ulterior political motives, the government maintained that it was necessary to operationalize the law on reservation for women in Parliament.

Had the delimitation bill been approved, the government would have increased the total number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850, using the population data from the latest census. This move was strongly objected to by the Opposition parties, who feared the delimitation would discriminately distribute power between the northern and southern states.

According to The Indian Express, the BJP-led NDA government was planning to rope in regional parties in its attempt to push through the proposed Delimitation Bill this time.

Is DMK Onboard After TN Assembly Election Defeat?

As per the report, a DMK leader said, "On issues such as delimitation and One Nation One Election, the party's position has always been guided by Tamil Nadu's interests rather than ideology alone. If the Centre provides a credible assurance that states which successfully implemented population control measures will not be penalised in parliamentary representation, and if the existing representation ratio is protected through a mutually acceptable formula, there is no reason to reject a proposal. Our concern is safeguarding Tamil Nadu's voice in Parliament."

However, DMK leaders maintained that the talks are "premature" as of now. It is worth noting that during the tabling of the bill in April, MPs from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), then governing Tamil Nadu, protested against the Bill and came to Parliament in black dress.