Nagesh Bhushan Chuppala As the clock ticks towards the 2026 delimitation exercise, India confronts a constitutional conundrum that could redefine its federal architecture. The freeze on Lok Sabha seats, a relic of the 1971 census imposed to encourage population control, is set to expire. When the next census—delayed by the pandemic but now slated for completion by mid-2026—furnishes fresh demographic data, the arithmetic will be unforgiving. Uttar Pradesh, with a projected population of 240m, could see its parliamentary tally balloon from 80 to 128 seats. Bihar might climb from 40 to 70. By contrast, the southern states, having tamed their fertility rates through decades of investment in education and health, face stagnation: Tamil Nadu edging up from 39 to 41, Kerala possibly slipping from 20 to 19. This north-south divergence is not mere electoral trivia; it threatens to erode the delicate equilibrium of India’s union, rewarding demographic laxity while penalising governance. Rahul G...