Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called on India's central government to ensure that southern states are not disadvantaged by the upcoming delimitation of Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) constituencies. Speaking in Bagalkot on Friday, he warned against what he described as "step-motherly treatment" of the south, echoing concerns raised by scholars and activists that the exercise could disproportionately increase parliamentary representation for more populous northern states at the expense of the south. Delimitation periodically redraws constituency boundaries based on population data, and critics fear that southern states, which have made greater progress in controlling population growth, could be penalised by losing seats as a result.