India, April 16 -- India is on the verge of its most significant electoral reform in five decades, and the politics have arrived well before the facts. The Modi government's April 2026 delimitation package proposes expanding the Lok Sabha from 543 to around 850 seats, protecting southern states' absolute seat count, operationalising 33 percent women's reservation by 2029, and establishing a new Delimitation Commission chaired by a Supreme Court judge.

The political response was swift. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin warned of protests. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy called it a death knell for federalism. The message across platforms has been uniform: South India governed responsibly, controlled its population, and is now being penalised for it. Tha...