‘South’s call for status quo irrational’: NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha demands delimitation on population grounds

Amid southern states’ pushback against the delimitation exercise, former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha is batting for it. Speaking with The Indian Express, Kushwaha, whose Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, called the southern states’ demand for status quo “irrational”.

These remarks come at a time when southern states have been pushing back against the delimitation exercise, which they believe will lead to them losing Lok Sabha seats. Significantly, Kushwaha’s Koeri caste group form 4.2% – the biggest after Yadavs at 14.4% – and are spread across 17 districts.

“Southern states had been in favour of delimitation until it registered good population growth. Now that they have managed to control the population, they are afraid of losing Lok Sabha seats,” Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha said. “On the contrary, states like Bihar registered very low population growth till 1971 and its Lok Sabha seats did not go up. Now that our population has grown phenomenally over the last 50 years, the number of its Lok Sabha seats must go up accordingly for better and effective management of constituencies.”