Lok Sabha Rejects Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026

Introduction 

The Lok Sabha rejected the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, moved by the Union Government, which sought to expand the strength of the House, revise the delimitation framework, and fast-track the implementation of one-third reservation for women in legislatures. Following the Bill's defeat, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju withdrew the Delimitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 from the House.

What is the Background? 

The 106th Constitutional Amendment, 2023 — Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam: 

• The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, commonly known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, provides for 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.  
• The Act received Presidential assent in 2023 but remained inoperative as it required a separate notification under Section 1(2) to come into force. The Union Government notified its commencement on April 16, 2026. 
• However, the actual implementation of women's reservation remains deferred. As enacted, Article 334A links women's reservation to a delimitation exercise to be carried out after the first Census conducted following the law — making implementation unlikely before approximately 2034. 

The Delimitation Freeze and Its History: 

• The freeze on parliamentary constituency boundaries has been in place since the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976), which based seat allocation on the 1971 Census.  
• The 84th Constitutional Amendment (2001) extended this freeze until the first Census after 2026. Currently, seat allocation continues to be based on the 1971 Census, while constituency boundaries reflect the 2001 Census. 

Purpose of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026: 

• To address the delay in implementing women's reservation and to restore the democratic principle of "one person, one vote, one value," the Union Government introduced the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, along with the Delimitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. 
• The legislative package sought to advance the implementation of women's reservation to 2029 by enabling delimitation based on the 2011 Census, bypassing the requirement to wait for Census 2027.

Key Provisions of the Bills 

Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026: 

• Proposed to increase Lok Sabha's strength from 543 to 850 seats, with a maximum of 815 members representing States and up to 35 representing Union Territories. 
• Sought to amend Article 82 by removing the existing requirement that delimitation must be undertaken on the basis of the first Census after 2026 — specifically by deleting the third proviso — enabling delimitation without awaiting Census 2027. 
• Proposed to amend Article 334A to allow implementation of one-third reservation for women immediately after delimitation, instead of linking it to a post-Census exercise. 

Delimitation Bill, 2026: 

• Proposed to replace the Delimitation Act, 2002. 
• Provided for the constitution of a Delimitation Commission chaired by a serving or former Supreme Court judge, with the Chief Election Commissioner or a nominated Election Commissioner, and the concerned State Election Commissioner as members. 
• The Commission would redraw parliamentary and assembly constituencies and readjust seat allocation based on the 2011 Census figures. 
• Would determine reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and provide for one-third reservation for women — including within SC/ST categories — with rotation across constituencies. 

Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026: 

• Extended similar changes to Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.

Failure of Special Majority — Article 368: 

• A Constitution Amendment Bill under Article 368 requires a special majority for passage — specifically, a majority of the total membership of the House, and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting. 
• In the present vote, with 528 members present and voting, the required two-thirds threshold stood at 352 votes. The Bill secured only 298 votes in favour, with 230 members voting against. Having failed to meet the constitutional requirement, the Bill stood rejected.

The North-South Divide — Federalism Concerns: 

• The primary legislative roadblock was the demographic disparity between States. Opposition members argued that population-based delimitation would disproportionately reduce the representation of Southern and North-Eastern States, which have performed better in population control over the decades compared to the more populous northern States. 
• The opposition demanded the complete delinking of women's reservation from the delimitation exercise, and also questioned the decision to proceed with delimitation based on the 2011 Census when the 2026–27 Census is already underway. 

Conclusion 

The rejection of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 means that the implementation of women's reservation under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam continues to remain deferred until the completion of a delimitation exercise following Census 2027 — pushing effective implementation to approximately 2034. The withdrawal of the Delimitation Bill, 2026 further means that the existing delimitation framework under the Delimitation Act, 2002 continues to operate, and the freeze on constituency boundaries based on the 1971 Census remains in place. The episode underscores the deep federal tensions embedded in India's democratic architecture — where the imperatives of population-based representation and the equitable treatment of States with divergent demographic trajectories remain difficult to reconcile within a single legislative framework.