BRS leader laments missed opportunities for more assembly seats in TG, AP

Hyderabad: BRS senior leader B Vinod Kumar today asserted that had the Indian Government amended Section 26 of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, 2014, by replacing the phrase “Subject to” with “Not Withstanding,” the number of seats in both the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State Legislative Assemblies would have increased significantly.

Vinod Kumar revealed that the BRS Party had repeatedly urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi between 2014 and 2019 to enact this crucial amendment. However, he noted, the Government of India took no steps to amend Section 26 of the Act. “I, myself, proposed a Private Member’s Bill in the Lok Sabha in 2015 to amend it,” Vinod added.

His comments follow the Supreme Court’s decision today to dismiss a petition concerning delimitation, stating that such a process would only commence after the census conducted post-2026. “Therefore, I believe that if the Government of India had amended Section 26 of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, the seats would have increased long ago,” Vinod stated. He concluded with optimism, “But now 2026 is not far away. Delimitation will take place soon.”