India's opposition INDIA bloc has successfully voted down a constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's parliament) that would have altered the delimitation — the reallocation of parliamentary seats — across the country. Senior politicians including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat hailed the defeat as a historic victory for federalism, with Karat describing the bill as an attempt to "disrupt the federal structure" of the country. The outcome is being seen as a significant setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, particularly as it comes ahead of state election day on April 23 in Tamil Nadu.