An all-party meeting in New Delhi, held ahead of the upcoming Parliament session, triggered fresh debate over whether the DMK is ready to support the Centre’s constituency re-delimitation bill.
After the meeting, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP N K Premachandran told a TV channel that the DMK had expressed support for the bill. However, DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva disputed that interpretation, saying the Union government has not yet provided a clear explanation of its proposal.
Siva said the interests of southern states should not be affected and stressed that the women’s reservation measure should be implemented based on the current strength of MPs. He added that the government’s position on re-delimitation still requires greater clarity.
According to Delhi sources cited in the report, the DMK wants the bill to explicitly include a verbal assurance attributed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah—that the number of constituencies in every state would be increased by 50%. The party is said to be considering its support depending on whether such a provision is written into the legislation.
The report also notes that the constitutional amendment bill had earlier failed in a special Parliament session due to insufficient two-thirds support. With the ruling alliance having 319 MPs against the 360 needed, the DMK’s 22 MPs could become significant if the bill returns for discussion.
