Wed Mar 12 15:59:00 UTC 2025: ## Tamil Nadu Leaders Urge Higher Birth Rates Amidst Delimitation Fears

**Chennai, India** – Top Tamil Nadu leaders are urging citizens to have more children, citing concerns over potential seat reductions in the upcoming parliamentary delimitation exercise. The plea comes amidst anxieties in South India about the redistribution of parliamentary constituencies based on population.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, made the appeal at a mass wedding in Chennai. He stated that Tamil Nadu, currently holding 39 parliamentary seats, could lose up to eight seats due to delimitation, while northern states with larger populations stand to gain significantly. He urged newlyweds to have children promptly, but in moderation, and to give them Tamil names to preserve cultural identity.

Chief Minister Stalin echoed these sentiments earlier this month, emphasizing the urgency of increasing the birth rate due to the state’s earlier successful family planning programs.

This call for increased births is not isolated to Tamil Nadu. A Telugu Desam Party MP, Kalisetti Appala Naidu, has offered financial incentives to women in Andhra Pradesh who have a third child.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has attempted to alleviate these concerns, assuring southern states that no seats will be reduced and that they will receive a fair share of any increases. However, Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK party remains unconvinced, demanding a constitutional amendment to guarantee the current proportional representation of southern states in parliament.

An all-party meeting in Chennai has already been held to address these concerns, and Chief Minister Stalin has invited leaders from seven other states—including West Bengal, Odisha, and Punjab—to a joint meeting on March 22nd to strategize a response to the delimitation process. The issue remains a highly contentious one as the 2029 general elections approach.

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