Lok Sabha seats to be expanded further. Odisha to have 28 seats instead of 21! Reports published in the national media say that the number of MPs in the country will increase again in 2026 with the delimitation. The increase in Lok Sabha seats may touch 848. In this order, the number of Lok Sabha seats in Odisha may increase from 21 to 28. Of these, Uttar Pradesh will have the highest number of seats, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Similarly, Andhra and Telangana may have 54, while the number of Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal may reach 60.
Lok Sabha seats to be expanded further
Odisha will have 28 seats instead of 21!
Speculation over the 2026 delimitation
Discussion spreads in the national media
The biggest obstacle in the delimitation process is the census. The center has not started this process yet. If the census is held in 2026, then the assembly seats will also increase at a rate similar to the Lok Sabha. Then the number of Odisha assembly seats may touch 196. To put it more clearly, if all these are implemented, Odisha will elect 49 more MLAs. So the question arises, is there room in the current assembly to seat so many MLAs? Has the government thought of increasing the size of the assembly?
The number of Lok Sabha seats in the country has not increased since 1977. Although, in Odisha, the boundaries of the constituencies were partially redrawn before the 2009 elections. So, there is already a political debate, which constituencies will be demolished and which new seats will be created?