The last national delimitation India witnessed was in 1973, based on the census in 1972. This increased the number of Lok Sabha seats to 543.
After this came the Emergency period in which former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi froze the delimitation of the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies until the 2001 census.
During the Emergency period, a key reason behind the freeze was to carry out population control measures. While these measures were successfully implemented in the southern states, North India lagged behind.
Southern states now had smaller populations, prompting them to oppose the constitution of a delimitation commission after the 2001 census, hence causing the extension till 2026.
With the deadline of delimitation nearing and India's population speculated to reach 1.42 billion by 2026, states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and others have once again raised their concerns.
