DMK sets three conditions as Centre steps up efforts on delimitation Bill

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has laid down three conditions for supporting a constitutional amendment Bill aimed at carrying out a fresh delimitation exercise, even as the Narendra Modi government intensifies efforts to build consensus across party lines.

The DMK has demanded that the freeze on seat allocation based on the 1971 Census be extended by another 25 years. Sources in the party said it also wants a 50 per cent blanket increase in Lok Sabha seats for all States, a position earlier stated verbally by Union Home Minister Amit Shah when the government brought a related legislative package in Parliament in April. Additionally, the party has asked for a schedule detailing the number of seats each State would receive under the proposed exercise.

Officially, the DMK has maintained that it will take a final decision on supporting the Bill only after the draft legislation is circulated. The conditions come amid renewed outreach by the government to Opposition parties, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju speaking to Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (August 6, 2026).

Mr. Rijiju described the conversation as productive and said he had made requests on a few specific issues while discussing other matters. He said the government expected continuous communication and coordinated action with the Congress and other Opposition parties. The Minister had also met Mr. Gandhi at his office in Parliament a day earlier, during which Congress leaders are said to have reiterated their opposition to any constitutional amendment for delimitation.

The government does not currently have the two-thirds majority required to pass a constitutional amendment in the Lok Sabha. In the present 540-member House, the required number is 360. If the DMK’s 22 members vote in favour, the government’s strength would rise to 346, leaving it 14 short of the threshold. However, the required number could effectively come down if some members abstain or remain absent during voting.

The political arithmetic has shifted since April 17, 2026, when the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was defeated on the floor of the House. Since then, the government has secured the support of 20 former Trinamool Congress MPs who now form the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI), and six Shiv Sena MPs who switched sides from the Uddhav Thackeray faction to the Eknath Shinde-led faction. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to host these MPs for a breakfast meeting on Friday (August 7, 2026).

Earlier, Mr. Shah had said that once the government was assured of numbers, it would bring back the constitutional amendment Bill to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats to implement 33 per cent reservation for women after fresh delimitation.

With the delimitation Bill and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill likely to come up next week, the Congress has issued a three-line whip asking its members to be present in Parliament.

Meanwhile, proceedings in the Lok Sabha continued to be disrupted over Opposition protests related to police action against students. Speaker Om Birla began the day by commemorating the anniversaries of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with members observing silence in tribute to the victims. Opposition MPs then raised slogans demanding Mr. Shah’s presence in the House over police action against student protesters on July 20, 2026. Some members displayed placards.