DMK softens stance, to await final Delimitation Bill

CHENNAI: The DMK has softened its stand on the proposed delimitation exercise after becoming the principal Opposition party in Tamil Nadu, announcing that it will take a final position only after examining the text of the proposed legislation.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the party's Members of Parliament, chaired by DMK president M K Stalin.

DMK Organising Secretary R.S. Bharathi confirmed the development, saying the party would decide whether to support or oppose the proposal only after the revised Delimitation Bill is introduced and its provisions are examined.

“We will study the final text of the Bill before taking a decision on the delimitation issue,” Bharathi said. The position marks a shift from the party's earlier stand when it was in power in the State.

The DMK had strongly opposed the proposed delimitation exercise, arguing that States which had successfully implemented population control measures should not be disadvantaged in parliamentary representation. When the Bill was introduced in Parliament in April this year, then Chief Minister Stalin publicly burnt a copy of the proposed legislation in protest. The party also organised demonstrations across Tamil Nadu opposing the measure.

During its tenure in office, the DMK had constituted a Joint Action Committee (JAC) on the delimitation issue and spearheaded efforts to build a broader political consensus against the proposal.

As part of that initiative, the party hosted a meeting in Chennai in March 2025, attended by leaders from several non-BJP-ruled States, to discuss the implications of the proposed delimitation exercise. The Trinamool Congress did not participate in the meeting.