India, March 7 -- A meeting of 35 political parties in Tamil Nadu, convened by CM MK Stalin and attended by all parties save the BJP and its allies, has put forth a set of guidelines on the contentious issue of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. The meeting demanded among other things, a 30-year status quo on the number of Lok Sabha seats with the 1971 consensus as the basis for delimitation. Stalin has announced that he will seek support from other southern states for the proposals. The five southern states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the UT of Puducherry together elect 130 members to the Lok Sabha. Various estimations indicate that post-delimitation, the proportional representation of these states could reduce in an expanded Parliament. This fear of being marginalised politically, and thereby losing clout in financial bargains as well as shaping policies at the Centre has influenced Tamil Nadu and others to up the ante on delimitation. These fears are legitimate and need to be assuaged....