Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 15 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its alliance partners will easily secure a two-thirds majority in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 4.
Speaking to reporters before participating in an election rally, he said, "The Indian National Congress and DMK have a long and great history of alliance, and we will easily secure a two-thirds majority."
He said, "The DMK government is taking along every section and community of society. The government has done exceedingly well over the past five years. Many schemes, along with guarantee schemes, have been provided for the welfare of the people. People who were reeling under the inflationary policies of the central government have benefited from these."
Further, he said that the timing of the Centre's move on the Women's Reservation Bill is not appropriate, alleging that it is being done for political gains, and added that such a decision should have been taken after the assembly elections.
DK Shivakumar stressed that the bill is aimed at women's empowerment and not meant for any single political party, noting that it was first proposed during the UPA government and that all parties should be taken into confidence on the issue.
"This is not the right time. They are doing this now for political gains. Could this not be discussed after the assembly elections are over? This is a bill that will do good for the country. It is a bill that emphasises women's empowerment and is not a bill being done for one political party. This matter was first proposed when the UPA government was in power. The Central government should take every party into confidence and think about this. It was Sonia Gandhi who ensured the Women's Reservation Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha," Shivakumar said.
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women legislators, is linked to the delimitation process in the Lok Sabha. The government is planning to implement the women's reservation ahead of the 2029 General Elections.
According to sources, the government has proposed to increase the number of seats in the House to 850, with 815 seats proposed for the States and the remaining 35 for the Union Territories. The Lok Sabha has 543 seats at present.
While the seats in Lok Sabha will witness a 50 per cent increase, the opposition parties have expressed concern as this increase will not be on a pro-rata basis for each state. The delimitation exercise, under Article 82 of the Constitution, is linked to the population of a constituency.
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