The Parliament reconvenes for a historic three-day sitting from today, with the Union government tabling the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill. The move aims to break the legislative deadlock over the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam by expanding the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 seats.
By increasing the total number of seats, the government plans to implement the 33 per cent women's quota in the 2029 general elections without reducing the number of seats currently held by men, a step intended to minimise internal political friction. However, with the proposed expansion to 850 seats, the distribution among states has emerged as the most contentious issue in the 2026 delimitation debate.
How the 850 seats would be distributed
The draft Bill proposes a clear division of the expanded House, with 815 seats allocated to states and 35 reserved for Union Territories. This marks a significant rise from the current 530 state seats and 13 seats for Union Territories. To accelerate the process, the government has proposed delinking delimitation from the post 2026 Census, instead using the 2011 Census data as the baseline.
As per the "pro rata expansion" model backed by the Centre, each state’s existing seat share is expected to rise by about 56 per cent. This proportional increase is intended to preserve the current political balance among states and ease concerns over the long-standing North-South divide that has historically hindered delimitation exercises.
Crucial link between women’s reservation and delimitation bills
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam links women’s reservation to delimitation and the latest census. The Centre now plans to move ahead using 2011 Census data for both delimitation and the implementation of one-third reservation for women legislators.
Unlike the 2023 version, which was tied to the 2021 Census, the new Bill seeks to remove that delay and ensure that one-third of all seats are reserved for women from the 2029 general election. It proposes that delimitation be carried out using the latest available census, in this case, the 2011 Census.
A key advantage of the 850-seat model is that it allows for around 283 seats to be reserved for women, while leaving roughly 567 seats for general and other categories, more than the current total strength of the Lok Sabha.
The Bill also mandates rotating reserved seats after each delimitation exercise, ensuring that women’s representation is spread across different constituencies over time.
The reservation will apply not only to the Lok Sabha but also to State Legislative Assemblies, as well as the assemblies of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.
