Revanth Reddy writes to Stalin, calls for united fight, collective engagement against pro rata seat increase

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, to join a coordinated resistance among southern states against the Centre's proposed increase in Lok Sabha seats on a pro rata basis, a move he described as structurally damaging to states that have responsibly managed population growth and driven economic progress.

In a letter on Tuesday, Revanth Reddy acknowledged Stalin's early leadership on the issue, noting that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister had convened a Delimitation Conclave in Chennai as far back as March 22, 2025 a gathering that Revanth Reddy himself attended alongside other political allies. He credited that initiative with forcing the Centre to abandon its earlier plan of allocating seats purely on the basis of the latest census population figures. "It is because of your initiative to organise the conclave and voice our collective opposition to the population model from Chennai unitedly that the Centre gave up on the population model based on the latest census," he said in the letter.

However, he warned that the Centre is now pursuing the same objective through a different route- the pro rata method which he said is "equally bad" for southern states and must be resisted with the same unity.

“Given the magnitude of this issue, it is clear that a fragmented response will not suffice. There is a growing need for collective engagement among southern states, and indeed all like-minded states, to ensure that our concerns are articulated effectively at the national level. In this regard, let us all join to launch a coordinated effort with unity to address this issue. This would include engaging with other Chief Ministers of southern and similarly placed performing and smaller states and taking the fight to Parliament India’s strength lies in its diversity and the equitable representation of all its regions. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that this balance is preserved,” Revanth told Stalin in the letter.

At the heart of Revanth Reddy's letter is a sharp arithmetic argument. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry together currently hold 40 Lok Sabha seats, against Uttar Pradesh's 80, a gap of 40 seats. Under the proposed pro rata model, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry may rise to approximately 60 seats, while Uttar Pradesh could jump to around 120. The political gap, currently 40 seats, would widen to 60 seats a structural deepening of the imbalance, not a correction of it, he said. "The pro rata method effectively means that the voice and influence of Tamil Nadu in Parliament will diminish in relative terms, even as its contribution to the nation continues to grow," he wrote.

Revanth Reddy also cited the gross disparity in fiscal devolution that Bihar receives Rs 6.69 for every rupee it contributes to central taxes, while Tamil Nadu receives a mere 26 paise for the same contribution. He argued that the proposed seat increase would compound this existing inequity by stripping southern states of their political leverage to challenge such discrimination at the national level. "With this change in Lok Sabha seats, we will be punished with political injustice over and above continued financial and policy discrimination," Revanth Reddy said.

As an alternative, Revanth Reddy proposed a hybrid model for seat allocation drawing an analogy with the Supreme Court's landmark reservations jurisprudence, which established a 50-50 split between quota and merit. Of the proposed increase from 543 to 850 seats, he suggested that half the new seats be distributed on a pro rata basis, while the remaining half be allocated based on economic contribution measured by Gross State Domestic Product and other performance criteria such as human development outcomes and fiscal discipline.