Riddle of 16: What did Rahul Gandhi hint at when he said ‘my god, how crazy’? Southern party's tally may hold answer

LEader of oppositeness Rahul mrs. Gandhi on fri claimed the list 16 holds heavily meaning in PM Narendra Modi's plans to bring in delimitation — an increase and change in Lok Sabha seats — by bundling it with an amendment to the women's quota law passed in 2023.Rahul said that, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was speaking in the Lok Sabha on his government's plan to this effect, “I was sitting here and watching. He had low energy. He was not able to engage."He said he then noticed the date was April 16. Harping on the number, the Congress MP said, “Clearly, trying to pass this bill (constitutional amendment) was a mistake. Everybody knew."He added, "I saw on my phone the date, the 16th, of April, and I was like, ‘My god, how crazy!’ That's the number. Sixteen. The answer to the riddle is in the number 16. Now if anybody understands what I am saying, please, send me a message.” He said the answer to “your problems” — pointing towards the treasury benches — is “in the number 16".One mathematical fact that he could be referring to is that the BJP does not have majority on its own since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.The BJP has 240 MPs, and its key allies include the JD(U) of Nitish Kumar from Bihar with 12 MPs, plus Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP's 16 from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.Though he gave no details, Rahul Gandhi was purportedly indicating that the TDP, being a party from South India — a region that fears loss of seat share in an expanded Lok Sabha — may not be onboard with the Modi government on its plans.For the record, Andhra minister and newly appointed TDP working president Nara Lokesh, who is Naidu's son, had on Thursday thanked PM Modi for "assuring the nation on behalf of the NDA that no injustice would be done to any state through the delimitation exercise".The Congress and several parties from South India, a region that includes Andhra, have said the states could end up losing seats even though they were successful in controlling their population as per a national policy of family planning.The Congress has underlined that PM Modi's “guarantee” and home minister Amit Shah's claim, that there will be a flat 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816, has no value if not coded in law. The proportionate share for states will stay the same, Shah has said.But this is not written in the bills, analysts have noted too.The delimitation, done by a commission appointed by the central government, can reduce the share of the southern states from 24% to 20% in the Lok Sabha, if it's done as per the 2011 Census now or later, DMK from Tamil Nadu has pointed out for instance.Also read | G-word at heart of fears: Why Oppn wants total LS seats and women quota delinked