Punjab, Haryana to lose Lok Sabha seats after delimitation: Manish Tewari

In the midst of a raging debate on the impending delimitation, senior Congress leader and Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari on Thursday said the existing formula for the exercise would deeply affect the north Indian states with Punjab and Haryana set to lose the Lok Sabha seats.

Calling for a new formula or a perpetual freeze on the current provisions, Tewari, responding to The Tribune report, said, "If delimitation is held on the current principles of one citizen, one vote and one value then not only the south but even north India would lose as the share of the northern states will go down further."

He said Punjab and Haryana, which currently have 13 and 10 Lok Sabha seats respectively, would be down to just 18 seats cumulatively if delimitation happens according to the current formula. Central India, which lags in population stabilisation, would be the only beneficiary, he said.

Posting on X the Tribune report on the outcome of MK Stalin-led all-party meeting which has demanded that the 1971 census be used as a benchmark for the exercise, Tewari cited examples of how Punjab would stand to lose if the current formula is followed.

"The number of Lok Sabha seats of both Punjab and Haryana post delimitation would be 18, whereas currently Punjab has 13 and Haryana 10. However, as a proportion to the overall strength of the Lok Sabha, both states would lose further. In any case, they are marginalised, and would become even more inconsequential," the former minister said.

He said even within the northern states how the distribution of seats would play out is an open-ended question.

“Would Punjab accept parity with Haryana in the number of seats? Would Himachal accept that its number of seats would remain the same? Would Jammu and Kashmir accept a marginal increase from six to nine seats?" asked the Congress leader.

He said the sole gainer in this exercise would be Central India that would see a substantial increase in the number of parliamentary seats as they have been lagging in population control.

"A new formula for delimitation has to be found or the delimitation has to be frozen," Tewari suggested.