Naveen Patnaik calls delimitation of constituencies injustice to Odisha

Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik addressed a meeting online convened by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on delimitation of seats in Chennai

Updated on: Mar 22, 2025, 18:42:01 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: Population should not be the only criteria to determine number of seats in the highest representative body of our country, former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik said on Saturday. He called delimitation of constituencies an injustice to Odisha.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik speaks via video conferencing in Chennai (PTI)

Addressing a meeting online convened by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on delimitation of seats in Chennai, Patnaik said delimitation based only on population figures will be unfair to the states who have worked hard to reduce their population growth rates in line with national priorities.

Also Read: Delimitation row: MK Stalin demands 30-year status quo on Lok Sabha seats

“Odisha has done well in successfully reducing its fertility rates over the years. If projected population figures of 2026 are taken, we will end up losing seats in the Lok Sabha and in the state assembly. States like Odisha would have reduced their population growth rates after years of persistent efforts should not be disincentivised, especially as they have performed very well on a national priority. The BJD will doeverything to protect the interests of the people of Odisha,” he said.

Population control is an important national agenda for the development of our country. “A national agenda was decentralized into state interventions and throughout the years, the union government gave high priority towards this. States also took their own initiatives and joined in successfully implementing the national agenda and the states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Punjab and Odisha have been very successful in this regard. In case these states had not achieved what they did in stabilizing population, India would have had a population explosion today derailing our developmental progress,” he said, suggesting that Centre should take up a detailed discussion with all the parties so as to remove any doubts on the issue.

Also Read: After Tamil Nadu, Punjab CM targets Centre on delimitation

Though Patnaik was invited by DMK to attend the meet, he sent former lawmaker Amar Patnaik and former minister Sanjay Dasburma to attend the meet at Chennai while joined online.

Odisha currently has 21 Lok Sabha seats, a number fixed based on the 1971 Census and maintained through subsequent freezes on seat reallocation (via the 42nd Amendment in 1976 and the 84th Amendment in 2001). The delimitation process will adjust the number of seats allotted to each state according to its population, aiming to uphold the principle of “one person, one vote, one value.”

According to BJD leaders, Odisha’s population growth rate has been relatively moderate compared to northern states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, by 2026, Odisha’s population will still be lower than that of states with historically higher growth rates and the state could lose out a couple of its 21 Lok Sabha seats to northern states with larger populations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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