Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], April 16 (ANI): Telugu Desam Party (TDP) State President and Gajuwaka MLA, Palla Srinivas Rao, on Thursday said the proposed delimitation exercise providing for a 50 per cent increase in parliamentary seats would benefit southern states as well and is not based solely on population.

Speaking to ANI on the proposed Delimitation Bill, the TDP state president said concerns that northern states would gain disproportionately were misplaced.

'Irrespective of the population, an increase of 50 per cent seats will definitely be beneficial for Southern Indian states. Although some states in Southern India are raising objections, thinking that the number of seats in the North are going to increase in large numbers, I don't think so,' he said.

Rao added that the provisions of the Bill clearly state that parliamentary representation would increase uniformly across states.

'If they have gone through the Act, especially the Bill they have brought today, it clearly states that in every state, 50 per cent of Parliament seats are going to be increased. So, it is not on the population basis,' he said.

Citing the example of Andhra Pradesh, he said the state currently has around 25 Lok Sabha seats and could gain nearly 25-26 additional seats after the proposed increase.

'Now, for example, we have around 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh, and we will get another 25-26 seats--nearly 50% of Parliament seats in Andhra Pradesh,' he added.

The Delimitation Bill, 2026, along with the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday after the Opposition pressed for a division against the move to introduce three Bills, instead of a voice vote.

The Opposition members in the Lok Sabha had pressed for a division against the move to introduce the bill. As per the final division, there were a total of 251 AYES and 185 NOES out of the total 333 votes.

With the 251 AYES majority, all three Bills, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, were introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, the government has convened a special sitting of Parliament from today to April 18 to pass the amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

The government has been seeking opposition support for passing the amendment bill to implement the women's reservation bill from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls on the basis of the 2011 census. (ANI)