‘Soft’ DMK to wait for final Delimitation Bill

CHENNAI: In a stunning reversal of its position merely three months after going all out against the BJP-led NDA government on the proposed delimitation exercise in run up to the Assembly polls, the DMK has softened its stand and announced that it would take a final decision only after examining the text of the proposed legislation.

DMK softens stand on delimitation, to decide after revised Bill is introduced

A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting of the party's parliamentarians, chaired by DMK president MK Stalin. Even though the party has not officially taken a final decision on the matter, observers noted that this softening of stance has come in the wake of the secular allies – the Left, VCK, and IUML, and most importantly, the Congress – deserting the alliance that the DMK headed to join the TVK-led front or extend support to its government. Since then, the DMK has sought a change in seating in the Lok Sabha and skipped the INDIA bloc meeting.

Decision only after revised Bill is tabled

Speaking to the media after the meeting, DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi said 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," he said.

Shift from earlier opposition

The position marks a significant shift from the party's earlier stand when it was in power in the State. Earlier, Stalin had assumed leadership of the regional parties' opposition to the proposed delimitation exercise, arguing that states that had successfully implemented population control measures should not be disadvantaged in parliamentary representation.

When the Bill was introduced in Parliament on April 16, Stalin, then the Chief Minister, publicly burnt a copy of the proposed legislation in Namakkal.

Stalin had compared protest to anti-Hindi agitation

Equating it with the DMK's anti-Hindi agitations of the 1960s, the formative episode in the Dravidian party's history, Stalin had said, "Today, I have reignited that fire by burning the copy of this black law and hoisting the black flag against this black law that seeks to turn Tamils into refugees in our own land. This fire will now spread across the Dravidian land. It will rise, it will rage, and it will bring the BJP's arrogance to its knees."

He had also urged people to hoist black flags in every home and public place as a mark of protest against the proposed legislation.

DMK had led national campaign against proposal

Earlier, the DMK had constituted a Joint Action Committee (JAC) on the issue and spearheaded efforts to build a broader political consensus across the country against the proposal.

The party had 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.