RJD leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav arrived in Tamil Nadu to campaign for the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, positioning himself as a voice for social justice and OBC rights. He left behind a political grenade.
What Tejashwi Said
Speaking to media in Tamil Nadu as he arrived to campaign for the DMK, Tejashwi Yadav made his caste census pitch directly to Tamil voters: “We want the census first. We want the caste census also. With the new census, with the new thing, if it will come, then it is better. Not the 2001 census. We want the 2025 census. And we want reservations also. So automatically, since 2011 to present 2025, the population has increased. That means OBC, SC, ST – their population must have increased.”
“We need the number of Lok Sabha constituencies based on the 2026 census because the population has increased from 2011-2025” – By brother Tejasvi Yadhav . In that sense Tamilnadu will lose 10 seats from its current tally!
Dudes who will u defend this now? pic.twitter.com/sNIS6Wwq7G— Major Madhan Kumar (Retd)🇮🇳 (@major_madhan) April 19, 2026
The argument is straightforward and has been the I.N.D.I. alliance’s standard caste census campaign line across the country: conduct a fresh census, enumerate OBC populations accurately, and expand reservations accordingly. In Hindi-belt states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where RJD’s political base lies, this is a vote-winning proposition.
In Tamil Nadu, it is something else entirely.
Tamil Nadu currently holds 39 Lok Sabha seats. Under a delimitation exercise based on 2025 or 2026 census data, the state stands to lose approximately 10 seats, a catastrophic reduction in its national political weight, while Hindi-belt states with higher population growth would gain seats proportionally.
This is the core of what MK Stalin has been calling “anti-Tamil” and “north-south injustice.” It is the issue he has deployed to build his national opposition credentials. It is the issue for which his ally Udhayanidhi Stalin has held rallies. It is the issue that DMK has used to frame the entire BJP as an existential threat to Tamil Nadu’s political representation. They had a chance to get more seats but they let go of it by voting against the bill in Parliament.
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