As the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) is accused of backing the Centre's proposed Delimitation Bill, senior party leader and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule dismissed speculation that the party had already decided on it. She added that the NCP (SP) is not taking any official position on the issue and will decide its stand only after the legislation is formally introduced in Parliament.
Sule told reporters that the reports being spread are based on unnamed sources and not based on any official communication from the party.
"We have never had discussions with anyone regarding delimitation, nor has anyone approached us about it. We will formulate our position once the Bill is introduced," she said.
She also said any decision on the proposed legislation will be discussed collectively within the INDIA alliance before the party finalises its position.
Concerns Over Southern States
Sule ruled out any immediate support or opposition, but expressed concern over the manner in which the proposed delimitation exercise could be undertaken.
She warned that if parliamentary constituencies are redrawn purely based on population, southern states could suffer political disadvantages despite having successfully practiced population control measures over the decades.
Sule said that the NCP (SP) believes that any delimitation exercise should ensure fairness among all states.
She said if the Centre went ahead with the legislation, the party would seek safeguards such as the proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats by 50 per cent in all states, not redistributing existing representation.
"If delimitation is only based on population, it could result in injustice to the southern states," Sule said.
She says that several opposition parties—including DMK and Samajwadi Party—are also concerned about the issues and have discussed the proposal for a significant increase in parliamentary seats.
Women’s Reservation is still important
Sule also said that the INDIA alliance's primary focus is on the implementation of women's reservation in Parliament.
"The INDIA alliance did not demand delimitation. We demand that the 33 per cent reservation for women should be implemented," she said.
Her comments indicate that the opposition bloc could prioritize the Women's Reservation Bill over the politically sensitive issue of constituency delimitation in the forthcoming Monsoon Session.
Meetings With Centre Clarified
Sule said that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had invited leaders from various opposition parties, including herself, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant, for discussions in the previous Budget Session.
She added that the delegation later met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Rijiju.
But Sule noted that the INDIA alliance had later written to Amit Shah under the leadership of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and said that talks should be held with all alliance partners instead of individually.
Political Speculation Continues
The clarification comes after several media reports indicated that Sharad Pawar's NCP faction was likely to support both the Women's Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.
It led to speculation that the Sharad Pawar-led camp may be moving closer to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The rumours gained more traction when senior NCP leader Praful Patel and Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare, both from the Ajit Pawar-controlled faction, met with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence in Mumbai. Just minutes later, the Sharad Pawar faction's Jayant Patil also visited the Chief Minister's residence, bringing politics on the rise.
Sharad Pawar himself met party MLAs at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s office in Mumbai’s Vidhan Bhavan complex last month, which led to fresh speculation about a possible political realignment in Maharashtra.
However, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance dismissed reports of any alliance or merger talks.
With the Monsoon Session coming up soon, the proposed Delimitation Bill will be one of the most closely watched political issues. The future has been speculated about but Supriya Sule’s reply is clear that NCP (SP) has not yet made any commitment to support the legislation and will make a final decision once the Bill is officially introduced and discussed within the INDIA alliance.
