India will carry out its most important delimitation exercise after the 2027 Census, ending a freeze on reallocating Lok Sabha seats since 1976. This exercise will redefine the political power of states and the country's federal balance. The current distribution is based on 1971 Census data when India’s population was 548 million, now grown to 1.47 billion. The constitutional freeze was to avoid penalising states that controlled population growth. But with diverging fertility rates today, northern states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will gain many more seats. For example, Uttar Pradesh may jump from 80 to 151 seats, and Bihar from 40 to 82, making over 26% combined in an expanded Lok Sabha of about 888 members. Southern states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala will get more seats but lose their share of total seats. Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised in 2025, "not even one seat will be reduced" for southern states. Yet, this promise cannot prevent their reduced influence given northern gains. The delimitation process will likely take several years, making implementation of women's 33% reservation impossible before the 2034 elections. Experts suggest six options including extending the freeze, expanding the Lok Sabha, using weighted formulas for seat allocation based on governance, strengthening the Rajya Sabha as a federal chamber, dividing large states like Uttar Pradesh, or phased redistribution over two election cycles. The process demands transparency, expert input, and public hearings to avoid political manipulation. Delimitation will shape India's democracy and federalism for decades. With population data soon coming, India faces a critical moment to balance fairness and political stability. As former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi puts it, "Delimitation will measure India’s democracy."