Sharad Pawar's Party May Back NDA On Delimitation, Raising Questions Over Opposition Bloc: Sources

New Delhi/Mumbai: Political turmoil has intensified regarding the much discussed Delimitation Bill to be presented in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Quoting sources, it is being claimed that Sharad Pawar led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) can support the NDA government at the centre on this bill. If this happens, it will be considered a different step from the common stand of the opposition alliance. However, the party has not yet confirmed these speculations and has said that the final decision on this issue will be taken only after internal discussion.

What did Supriya Sule say?

NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule expressed caution over reports of the party's support. She clearly said that the party has not yet decided any official stand on the delimitation bill. According to her, a final decision on this subject will be taken only after discussions with senior party leaders. Sule said that the discussions going on in the media at present should not be considered as the official opinion of the party.

Why did political discussions intensify?

In the last few days, many important meetings in Maharashtra politics have given rise to new discussions. Separate meetings of NCP and NCP (SP) leaders at 'Varsha', the official residence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, have given rise to speculations about the changing political equations between the two parties. Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil also met Fadnavis, while Prafull Patel and Sunil Tatkare also held separate meetings with the chief minister. However, these meetings are officially described as related to local development work.

What is the proposal of delimitation bill?

The central government is preparing to introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill during the monsoon session. The proposed bill could pave the way for increasing the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850. After this, delimitation of parliamentary constituencies will be done on the basis of new census. The government says that this step is necessary in view of the increasing population and balance of representation.

Why does the opposition have objection?

Many opposition parties have already expressed their concerns regarding delimitation. He argues that if the reassignment of seats is done only on the basis of population, then those states including South India, which have effectively implemented the policy of population control, will be at a disadvantage. Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram had also recently appealed to Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) and DMK not to support the bill. He says that delimitation under the current formula may upset the balance of representation among the states. 

Will the picture be clear in the monsoon session?

The monsoon session of Parliament is going to start from July 20. It is believed that the government may present the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in this session. In such a situation, the stance of all political parties will be monitored. Especially the final decision of NCP (SP) is considered important because it will not only affect the politics of the bill but can also decide the direction of opposition unity in Maharashtra and at the national level.