Delimitation refers to the periodic redrawing of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies to reflect population shifts. Since 1976, the number of seats per state has been frozen, initially to incentivise population control; this freeze has been extended and is due to lapse after the first census following 2026.
The debate matters because northern, higher-population-growth states could gain seats at the expense of southern states that achieved lower fertility rates, raising federal and political-representation concerns. This touches core questions of equitable representation, cooperative federalism, and the balance between population-based democracy and rewarding governance performance.
For exams, this is a recurring polity theme covering Article 82, the Delimitation Commission, the 84th and 87th Amendments, and the federalism-versus-representation tension likely to resurface as 2026 approaches.