Mumbai: Ahead of Parliament’s upcoming session, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule on Saturday clarified her party’s stance on the Centre’s proposed delimitation exercise.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Sule stated that the NCP (SP) is open to considering support for the Delimitation Bill—provided it ensures a uniform 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats across all states and prioritises women’s reservation.
Sule’s remarks are widely viewed as a potential breakthrough for the Modi government, which has been working to build consensus and secure the requisite two-thirds majority to pass the constitutional amendment bill after an earlier version failed to clear Parliament.
Outlining her party’s position, Sule noted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had previously floated a proposal to uniformly increase parliamentary seats by 50 per cent in every state.
“If all states are getting seats in an equal and uniform proportion, then there is no objection to considering it,” Sule said, adding that the formula is acceptable to the NCP (SP) “in principle” if it serves the broader national interest.
However, she stressed a crucial condition: the delimitation process must not be passed without implementing women’s reservation.
She reiterated that her party’s stance remains consistent with what it conveyed during all-party discussions three months ago.
Defending the practical necessity of redrawing constituency boundaries, Sule pointed to the massive demographic expansion in parliamentary segments across the country.
Citing her own Baramati constituency, Sule noted that voter numbers have swelled from 10–12 lakh to nearly 20–22 lakh, with several constituencies nationwide reaching 25 to 40 lakh voters.
She highlighted the difficulty of serving such large populations with the existing Rs 5 crore MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) fund.
“Representation is a service. Imagine reaching 25 to 40 lakh people; even if someone were Superman or Batman, they couldn’t reach everyone,” Sule remarked, arguing that smaller constituencies are essential for effective administration and justice to local development.
While signalling issue-based openness on delimitation, Sule firmly quashed speculation regarding her party joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or reuniting with the rival NCP faction.
Addressing rumours of a potential merger following the demise of Ajit Pawar, Sule put a “full stop” to the chatter, stating that the chapter closed the day her brother passed away and that no merger proposals exist.
She reaffirmed that the NCP (SP) remains firmly aligned with the opposition INDIA Bloc, noting that the alliance had also discussed the uniform 50 per cent seat-hike formula in the past.
–IANS–
