PM Advisory Council Proposes Splitting Hyderabad And Secunderabad Lok Sabha Seats

The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC) has proposed a new delimitation formula that would split key Telangana constituencies including Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Malkajgiri, Medak, and Chevella to increase voter representation. Under the proposal, the total number of Lok Sabha seats in Telangana would rise from 17 to 26, while Andhra Pradesh's seats would increase from 25 to 38.

The council recommended increasing the total number of Lok Sabha constituencies across India from 543 to 824. Instead of a blanket 50 percent increase in every state, the PM-EAC suggested focusing on restructuring 170 specific constituencies. Under this plan, 59 existing constituencies would be divided into two segments, and 111 would be split into three.

In Telangana, the Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Malkajgiri, and Medak constituencies have been identified for a three-way division, while Chevella is proposed to be divided into two. In Andhra Pradesh, the council proposed dividing Visakhapatnam, Rajampet, Kadapa, Anantapur, Kurnool, and Nandyal into three constituencies each, and Machilipatnam into two.

The council’s recommendations are based on factors such as voter turnout, urbanisation, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe populations, female population, linguistic diversity, and language-based polarisation.

Language-based polarisation was a key factor in the recommendations. The Hyderabad constituency recorded a linguistic polarisation score of 0.12, with approximately 1.066 million Urdu-speaking residents, 28 percent Telugu speakers, and 5.15 percent Hindi speakers. The council estimated that dividing Hyderabad could increase voter participation by 27.87 percentage points in each newly created constituency, while a split in Secunderabad could result in a 26.93 percentage point increase.

Overall, the report projects that Telangana could record a 6.55 percent rise in voter turnout, while Andhra Pradesh could witness a 3.52 percent increase. Nationally, voter participation is estimated to increase by 2.32 percent, translating to an additional 22.3 million votes. Sources indicated that a fresh delimitation Bill based on this formula could be introduced in Parliament during an upcoming session.