The Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre on Wednesday did not completely rule out the possibility of increasing the number of assembly seats in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh but said it could be done only through a Constitutional amendment.
Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai made it clear in Rajya Sabha, in a reply to a question raised by BJP MP G V L Narasimha Rao that as per the existing norms, the delimitation of assembly constituencies in the state could be done only after the next census to be conducted after 2026.
He said as per Section 15 of the AP Reorganisation Act, the number of assembly seats in Telangana would have to be increased from present 119 to 153 – an increase of 34 seats at the rate of two assembly segments in each of the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies.
Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh, the number of assembly seats would go up from the present 175 to 225, an increase of 50 seats – at the rate of two assembly seats each for 25 parliamentary constituencies.
“If the number of assembly seats in both the states has to be increased according to the AP Reorganisation Act, the Parliament has to amend Article 170 of the Constitution. Till then, the Centre cannot increase the number of assembly seats,” Rai said.
However, the Union minister did not say whether the Centre has any plans to amend the Constitution. He only suggested a way out for doing so.
Recently, there were reports in the national media that the Union law ministry had asked both the state governments to send “administrative report” on the proposed new assembly segments in their respective states, so that a bill could be introduced in the next Lok Sabha elections.
This led to the speculations that the Centre might be considering the long-pending issue of increasing the assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Apparently, the BJP felt that an increase in the number of assembly seats in Telangana, would increase its chances of coming to power in the state.
Since the Centre cannot take decision only for Telangana, it is compelled to increase the seats in Andhra Pradesh, too, on the pretext of fulfilling the promise made in AP Reorganisation Act.