New Delhi: Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's letter seeking support, the Indian government circulated three bills among parliamentarians on Tuesday to implement one-third women's reservation in the Lok Sabha through delimitation. The package includes the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2026, proposing to raise Lok Sabha seats to a maximum of 850. The bills will be taken up in a special parliamentary session from April 16 to 18.
Building on PM Modi's outreach to party leaders earlier this week, the Indian government has circulated bills to expedite delimitation for operationalizing the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which reserves one-third seats for women (including SC/ST categories) on a rotating basis.
Key proposals include the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2026, increasing Lok Sabha's maximum seats from 550 to 850 (815 for states, 35 for Union Territories), and the Delimitation Bill 2026, establishing a new Delimitation Commission using 2011 census data, headed by a Supreme Court judge. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal noted the current 1971 census freeze delays women's participation amid population shifts.
NDA allies largely backed the move: TDP's N Vijay Kumar called delimitation 'long overdue' for Andhra Pradesh; Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde pledged 'full support' to the PM. Some TDP and JD(U) leaders flagged ambiguities like census reference and seat rotation.
Southern leaders voiced caution over northern seat gains: Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin warned of power imbalance and protests; Telangana CM Revanth Reddy urged consultations and quota on existing 543 seats. Congress's Abhishek Singhvi labeled the bills 'bristling with errors.' This echoes earlier opposition concerns on federal balance raised by CPI(M) and CPI ahead of the session.
