Women's quota Bill faces hurdle as Opposition flags delimitation concerns

Opposition cries gerrymander as delimitation debate intensifies

There will be no reduction in the share of Lok Sabha (LS) seats for any state, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, and legal safeguards will be put in place for states that have responsibly controlled population growth, sources said on Wednesday.

 

This comes even as Opposition parties announced they will vote against the Constitution (Amendment) Bill aimed at fast-tracking one-third reservation for women in the LS and legislative Assemblies of states and Union Territories (UTs) such as Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu & Kashmir.

 

The government is set to introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, as a major reform to increase women’s representation in the LS and state Assemblies during the three-day extended Budget session, beginning Thursday. The Opposition has flagged the Bill’s provisions on delimitation as the main reason for its resistance.

 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the proposed amendments amount to an “attempted power grab” through delimitation and gerrymandering. He attended a meeting of Opposition parties convened by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, along with leaders from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Trinamool Congress, and Left parties, among others. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joined virtually.

 

Sources in the ruling alliance, however, said that when Parliament passed the women’s reservation Bill in 2023, Opposition leaders had demanded its implementation without waiting for the next Census cycle. They argued that the Opposition has since reversed its position to contest the current timeline. The amendment to be introduced in the three-day session will ensure implementation of women’s reservation by the 2029 LS polls, sources said.

 

Responding to criticism that the government is rushing the Bill, sources pointed to the 30-year wait for the law, first introduced in 1998 as the Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill. At the time, a Member of Parliament tore up the Bill in Parliament and “some legislators spoke of women representatives with open contempt”. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill in 2010, but it was never taken up in the LS during the remaining four years of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, which sources attributed to a lack of political will.

 

Sources also countered the Opposition’s claim that the Bill would reduce LS seats for southern states. They said the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill would protect existing seat shares and has been designed for uniform implementation without altering the current allocation for any state or UT.

 

Under the proposed formula, the number of seats across states and UTs would increase by 50 per cent, while their share in an expanded LS of 850 seats would remain unchanged from the current 543-member House, sources said.

 

Amending the Constitution requires a special majority in both Houses of Parliament — a majority of the total membership and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting. If all 540 current members are present and voting, the two-thirds mark would be 360. The National Democratic Alliance currently has 292 members in the LS, while major Opposition parties together have 233.

 

Two prominent non-Bharatiya Janata Party chief ministers from the south — DMK’s M K Stalin (Tamil Nadu) and Congress’ A Revanth Reddy (Telangana) — have opposed the proposed delimitation. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Reddy said increasing LS seats on a pro rata basis, without accounting for economic contribution, would distort the federal balance.

 

The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has announced a statewide black-flag demonstration on April 16, coinciding with the start of the three-day special session of Parliament.