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One Person, One Vote vs. One State, One Voice: Rethinking Parliamentary Representation and Delimitation in India
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Electoral Structure and Political Science
Abstract
The distribution of seats within the Lok Sabha across states has been based on 1971 Census data since 1976. This has been extended up to the first Census after 2026. However, this has resulted in a lack of equality as each Member of Parliament now represents twice as many people as previously. This has had a negative effect on the northern states as they have been growing more quickly. However, a strict system of "one person, one vote" would mean that the southern states who have kept their populations stable lose out. This paper analyses the distribution of seats between states after 2026 using a doctrinal and qualitative approach. It considers the balance between equality of population and federalism using examples from the United States and Germany. It will argue that neither a strict population based system nor a permanent freeze can be justified. A new system which uses a mixture of both should be used. The number of seats within the Lok Sabha should be increased. Each state should have a safe minimum number of seats (the current 543). Additional seats should be allocated on a population basis but taking into account the demographic performance. This should be updated after every Census.
References
[1] Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, art. 51 (official English translation, Deutscher Bundestag). https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_gg/englisch_gg.html
[2] Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001 (India).
[3] Constitution (Eighty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2003 (India).
[4] Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 (India).
[5] Constitution of India, 1950.
[6] Delimitation Act, 2002 (India).
[7] Election Commission of India (n.d.-a). Delimitation. https://eci.gov.in/delimitation-website/delimitation/
[8] Election Commission of India (n.d.-b). Frequently asked questions on delimitation. https://www.eci.gov.in/Documents/Delimitation/FAQ-Delimitation.pdf
[9] Election Commission of India (n.d.-c). Delimitation Acts and constitutional amendments. https://www.eci.gov.in/delimitation
[10] Mehrotra S (2026). Delimitation after 2026: Demographic performance, federal balance and women’s representation in India (IZA Discussion Paper No. 18753). IZA Institute of Labor Economics. https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18753
[11] Mishra A, Tiwari SK (2026). Delimitation after the Census: Does population-based representation threaten the basic structure of Indian federalism? Cognitive Thinking: An International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(2), 205–213. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20568174
[12] Patel PK, Sekher TV (2024). Parliamentary delimitation: A study on India’s demographic struggle for political representation. Journal of Asian and African Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241295634
[13] PRS Legislative Research (2026a, April). Issues for consideration: Delimitation Bills of 2026. https://prsindia.org/files/bills_acts/bills_parliament/2026/Issues_for_Consideration_Delimitation_Bills_of_2026.pdf
[14] PRS Legislative Research (2026b, April 16). The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026: Bill summary. https://prsindia.org/billtrack/prs-products/prs-bill-summary-1776322465
[15] PRS Legislative Research (2026c, April 16). The Delimitation Bill, 2026: Bill summary. https://prsindia.org/billtrack/prs-products/prs-bill-summary-1776322273
[16] Tillin L, Vaishnav M, Robaina A (2026). Delimitation after defeat: India’s unfinished debate over representation. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 14 May 2026. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2026/05/india-parliament-lok-sabha-representation-reapportionment-vote-women-elections
[17] United States Constitution, art. I.
[18] Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964).
How to cite this paper
@article{1724411,
author = {Somya Singh},
title = {One Person, One Vote vs. One State, One Voice: Rethinking Parliamentary Representation and Delimitation in India},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {10},
number = {4},
pages = {4093-4102},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1724411.pdf},
abstract = {The distribution of seats within the Lok Sabha across states has been based on 1971 Census data since 1976. This has been extended up to the first Census after 2026. However, this has resulted in a lack of equality as each Member of Parliament now represents twice as many people as previously. This has had a negative effect on the northern states as they have been growing more quickly. However, a strict system of "one person, one vote" would mean that the southern states who have kept their populations stable lose out.
This paper analyses the distribution of seats between states after 2026 using a doctrinal and qualitative approach. It considers the balance between equality of population and federalism using examples from the United States and Germany. It will argue that neither a strict population based system nor a permanent freeze can be justified. A new system which uses a mixture of both should be used. The number of seats within the Lok Sabha should be increased. Each state should have a safe minimum number of seats (the current 543). Additional seats should be allocated on a population basis but taking into account the demographic performance. This should be updated after every Census.},
month = {October},
}