Assembly seats in Telangana and AP to be key issue in Lok Sabha polls

Hyderabad: The increase in the number of Assembly seats in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh would likely be one of the key issues in this year's parliamentary elections.

During bifurcation, the Centre had proposed increasing Assembly seats in both states and

The relevant provisions for increasing the number of seats were inserted in the AP Reorganisation Act 2014. The Centre kept the matter pending citing legal hurdles. The Centre also made it clear that the Assembly seats will be enhanced only after the population Census in 2026.

A couple of days ago, the Parliament Standing Committee of Home Affairs, headed by former finance minister P Chidambaram, submitted its report to the Union of India recommending increase in the number of Assembly seats in both states.

The Committee also suggested a constitutional amendment to take up delimitation of the constituencies in both Telugu states.

As the general election is fast approaching, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the Telugu Desam and the Congress are planning to make the delimitation of constituencies in both states an issue during the campaign.

AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao are very keen on the issue and had made representations to the Centre, and even the Prime Minister, to permit it as promised during the bifurcation of the old state of AP.

Sources in TRS and Telugu Desam disclosed that their party chiefs are working out the strategy to take forward this issue during the elections. Sources in the YSR Congress revealed that their party is also looking into the issue and planning to put it on the election agenda.

The AP Reorganisation Act specifies that “subject to the provisions contained in article 170 of the Constitution and without prejudice to section 15 of this Act, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the successor States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana shall be increased from 175 and 119 to 225 and 153, respectively, and delimitation of the constituencies may be determined by the Election Commission.” The Act also prescribed the procedure for the EC for delimitation of the constituencies in both states.

The Centre had sought the opinion of the law ministry on whether Section 26 (1) of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 could be implemented by amending Section 26, without any amendment to Article 170 of the Constitution to increase the seats. The Attorney General opined that unless and until Article 170 is amended to bring it in line with Section 26 of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, there can be no increase in the number of seats of the assemblies of the two states.