Karnataka Congress will consult its high command in Delhi before deciding on participating in the Lok Sabha delimitation meeting convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin.

A DMK delegation comprising Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Ponnumudi and Rajya Sabha member MM Abdulla called on Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at Vidhan Soudha on Tuesday, briefing them about the meeting and inviting them to attend it.

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The delimitation meeting convened by Stalin will discuss and formulate strategies to oppose fight the central government’s initiative, which is feared to reduce the political strength of South India, where all states have excelled in population control and could lose seats in Parliament, or see proportional decrease in the number of seats as compared to north Indian states like Bihar, UP, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, which have witnessed increase in population.

Speaking to media persons after the TN delegation called on them with the invite, Shivakumar said, “Tamil Nadu CM Stalin has taken the lead in mobilising a protest against the Centre’s Lok Sabha constituency delimitation exercise, which will reduce the number of seats for Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Stalin’s representatives met me and CM Siddaramaiah and extended the invitation.”

He further said, “The ruling party of Tamil Nadu is our alliance partner, and we are in agreement with their stance on the delimitation exercise. As we are a national party, we need to discuss this with our party high command. We will decide on the next steps after seeking their advice and have informed our counterparts from Tamil Nadu about the same. The delegation from Tamil Nadu also discussed various aspects with us, including language. It is time we work together to uphold our self-respect,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

Stalin has taken on the might of the central government over the three-language formula, which the state has opposed for the past many decades. He is rallying opposition-ruled states against delimitation and is now engaged in an intense battle with the Centre over the language issue, as the latter pushes the state to accept the National Education Policy.

Stalin has reached out to leaders of opposition-ruled states and his alliance partner in the INDIA bloc, the Congress. He has also invited opposition leader and former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik.