The twin Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh would have to wait for at least 10 years to see an increase in the number of assembly seats.
This was made clear by Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai in a reply to a question raised by Congress MP from Malkajgiri and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A Revanth Reddy in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
During the question hour, Revanth Reddy pointed out that the number of assembly seats in Telangana would be increased from 119 to 153, as per the promise made in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
He sought to know from the Central government as to when this increase would come into effect.
The union minister said as per Article 170 of the Constitution of India, delimitation of assembly constituencies in the state could be done only after the next census to be conducted after 2026.
“Since the next census would be done only 2031, there is no possibility of increasing the assembly seats till then. The delimitation of constituencies would be done only on the basis of population as per 2031 census,” Nityananda Rai said.
As per the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, Andhra Pradesh is asking for an increase of assembly seats from 175 to 225, while Telangana from 119 to 153.
