Women’s quota bill to raise Lok Sabha strength to 850, Centre moves to fast-track implementation

New Delhi: The Centre is set to introduce a key Constitution amendment bill in Parliament on Thursday to operationalise 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by increasing the strength of the Lower House from 543 to up to 850.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend Article 81 of the Constitution and provides for a Lok Sabha comprising not more than 815 members elected from states and up to 35 members representing Union territories.

To redraw constituencies, the bill proposes using population data from the 2011 Census, the latest available official figures.

The government is also expected to introduce a delimitation bill and enabling legislation for Union territories with legislatures, including Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry, as part of efforts to fast-track the implementation of the women’s reservation law passed in 2023.

According to the statement of objects and reasons, the move aims to avoid delays in ensuring women’s participation in legislative bodies. The next Census and subsequent delimitation exercise could take considerable time, potentially pushing back implementation.

The proposed changes seek to ensure one-third reservation for women, including those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and legislatures of Union territories through a delimitation exercise based on the latest published Census data.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the Women's Reservation Act was passed after a long wait and urged all parties to support its implementation in the 2029 elections without further delay, calling it the "collective sentiment" of the nation.

"Let all political parties come together to unanimously take forward this initiative, which concerns the rights of the nation's sisters and daughters," he said at a public meeting ahead of ahead of the three-day special sittings of Parliament from April 16 to consider a legislative package, including amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, to implement quota for women from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed the Women’s Reservation Bill a “need of the hour” and urged support for the “historic move”.

In a post on X, Shah said the legislation would enable greater participation of women in policymaking and strengthen the country. He added that the government is committed to implementing the measure without delay.

Parliament had passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in September 2023, providing for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

However, under the existing framework, implementation was linked to the completion of the next Census and delimitation exercise, potentially delaying it until 2034. The proposed amendments aim to advance its rollout, with the government targeting implementation ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Leaders, including Yogendra Yadav, have flagged the underlying issues with the latest amendment. "Contrary to the assurance of the PM and ministers, there is nothing in this bill to ensure that the present proportion of seats for each state would be maintained. It lifts the existing freeze (based on 1971 census, extended to post 2026) completely without any safeguard the government was promising. Worse, the decision about which Census would be the basis for reallocation is taken away from the constitution and placed in the domain of law (ie, simple parliamentary majority). Actual reallocation and determination of boundaries would be done by the Delimitation Commission, on which the constitution is silent. And this cannot be challenged in a court of law," he said in a post on X.