Tamil Nadu Assembly Passes Resolution to Retain Lok Sabha Strength at 543

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution urging the Union government to permanently retain the existing strength of the Lok Sabha at 543, based on the population figures of the 1971 census. The Assembly also opposed any delimitation of constituencies based on a census conducted after 1971, stating that such an exercise would severely affect Tamil Nadu and other southern States that had effectively controlled their population growth. The resolution proposed by the ruling TVK government was supported by the DMK, despite the party not attending the all-party MPs’ meeting convened by Chief Minister Vijay on August 8. Besides the DMK, the Congress, CPI, CPM, IUML and VCK supported the resolution, while the AIADMK, PMK and BJP opposed it. Manithaneya Makkal Katchi MLA M H Jawahirullah, who was elected on the DMK symbol, also supported the resolution The resolution, was adopted with the majority of the members backing it. The Assembly also urged the Centre to permanently maintain the existing inter-State distribution of Lok Sabha seats and retain the current Lok Sabha-Rajya Sabha ratio at 2.2:1. It further called for the immediate implementation of 33% reservation for women in the 2029 Lok Sabha election, based on the existing strength of 543 seats. The resolution recalled that in April 2026, a Constitution Amendment Bill seeking to lift the 50-year-old freeze on delimitation, undertake delimitation based on the 2011 Census and increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850 members failed to clear Parliament.