Sharad Pawar Led NCP SP Reportedly Set to Support Delimitation Bill
The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) is reportedly planning to support the controversial Delimitation Bill during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. This potential shift, which marks a significant departure from the broader opposition INDIA Bloc's stance, comes amid intense political activity in Mumbai, where senior party leaders recently held meetings at Varsha, the official residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats and facilitate the next delimitation exercise. Despite not being part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the NCP (SP) is expected to vote in favour of the legislation, according to reports quoting sources.
The reported decision coincides with a series of meetings in Mumbai. Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence, Varsha, on Tuesday night. While the meeting was reportedly regarding issues related to Patil's Uran-Islampur Assembly constituency in Sangli district, it has triggered fresh speculation over changing political equations in the state.
Separately, senior leaders of the rival ruling NCP faction, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, also met with Chief Minister Fadnavis. Although reports clarified these meetings were held independently, the back-to-back interactions have fuelled speculation about a potential thaw in relations between the two rival NCP factions and even renewed discussions of a potential rapprochement or merger.
The political developments have drawn concern from the opposition. Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram urged both the NCP (SP) and the DMK not to support the legislation. In a social media post, Chidambaram argued that a delimitation exercise based on the current formula would disproportionately reduce the parliamentary representation of states that had successfully controlled population growth in accordance with the National Population Policy.
The Centre is expected to introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which is scheduled to commence on July 20. If introduced, the legislation is likely to trigger intense political debate, with delimitation emerging as one of the key issues before Parliament.
