Clad in black shirts protesting against delimitation, Udhayanidhi, DMK candidates campaign for polls

MADURAI: Clad in black shirt to convey the party's opposition to the delimitation exercise, DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday campaigned for the party candidate here accusing the BJP government at the Centre of "attempting to reduce" the state's representation in Parliament.

The Centre, he said, was trying to divert the attention of the people in the poll-bound Tamil Nadu to pass the delimitation bill in Parliament. People should oppose the delimitation as it would be carried out based on population to reduce the Lok Sabha seats in the state, he claimed.

Udhayanidhi, who is contesting from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni assembly constituency in Chennai, and also other candidates in the DMK campaigned for the April 23 Assembly election, dressed in black to show their protest against the Centre's alleged move to reduce the state's representation through the delimitation exercise.

Udhayanidhi burnt a copy of the proposed delimitation bill to mark the DMK's state-wide protest.

"Today is a very important day. I am wearing a black shirt to oppose the delimitation bill. The union government is trying to reduce the representation of Tamil Nadu. Using the elections in the state, the union government is attempting to divert us from the election and enact the delimitation," Udhayanidhi Stalin said, referring to the Constitution (131st Amendment) bill.

"We should oppose it. At present, we have 39 Lok Sabha seats. If the delimitation is done properly, then we will get 59 seats, but the Centre is planning to allot only 47 seats, thereby reducing 12 constituencies," the deputy chief minister said while campaigning for the party's Madurai East candidate and state minister P Moorthy, who was also wearing a black shirt.

Claiming that BJP's "conspiracy" will not work in the state, Udhayanidhi said, "Tamil Nadu will not remain a mute spectator to the central government's attempt to strip away our rights." "Every family should come forward and protest," he urged the people.

Udhayanidhi said the parliamentary representation will be redrawn based on the people's population.

The DMK candidates across the state campaigned dressed in black.