Mumbai: DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi met Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree on Saturday. Sena (UBT) functionaries said Kanimozhi discussed the delimitation bill and state of INDIA bloc after Congress backed TVK in Tamil Nadu. Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai and MLC Milind Narvekar were also part of the meeting.“We are part of the INDIA bloc. Kanimozhi was in Mumbai for an event and wanted to meet Uddhav Thackeray. They discussed how regional parties can play a role in the opposition and the mood in South Indian states. It was a very cordial meeting,” Desai said.The upheaval brought in Tamil Nadu by Congress’ decision to break ranks with DMK and align with actor Vijay’s TVK had effected division in opposition ranks in Parliament, with the Dravidian party seeking a change of seating arrangement for its MPs, many of whom sat alongside members of the main opposition party, Congress. Kanimozhi, who is the head of DMK parliamentary party, had in May written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for allotting separate seating to her party’s MPs, saying it will enable them to effectively discharge their responsibilities in the House.DMK decision had raised the question of whether the party is also leaving INDIA bloc. The seating plan in LS was jointly negotiated by the bloc after the 2024 LS elections, barring TMC, which had bargained its seats separately with Speaker’s office.“There was an hour-long discussion between Kanimozhi and Uddhav Thackeray. They discussed the delimitation bill and the Congress’s stand on the INDIA bloc. So these issues were discussed, especially the role of smaller regional parties in the INDIA bloc,” a Sena (UBT) functionary said.In April, Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was defeated in Lok Sabha. The bill tied women’s reservation to an expansion of Lok Sabha seats and a controversial delimitation framework based on the 2011 census. The bill failed to reach the required two-thirds majority (getting 298 votes in favor and 230 against), causing the centre to withdraw the companion Delimitation Bill.
