Opposition Defeats BJP’s Plan to Amend Women’s Bill & Bring in Delimitation

April

2026

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) introduced three Bills for passage in the Indian Parliament on 16 Apr. First, Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, said the government will use data from the 2011 Census to delimit constituencies of the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament, LS) and state Legislative Assemblies while reserving one-third seats for women. The Bill had two objectives: to delink 33% women’s quota rollout from the delimitation exercise following the 2026 Census—this provision was part of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 (Women’s Reservation Law, NSVA); and to remove the 50-year freeze on delimitation. Second, Delimitation Bill, 2026 which sought to set up a Delimitation Commission to redraw the LS and state Assembly constituencies based on the 2011 Census figures and increase the LS seats from the current 543 to 850. Third, Union Territories Laws Amendment Bill, 2026, to amend the constitutional framework relating to population, delimitation and reservation in union territories. Since the first Bill was a Constitutional Bill, it needed a two-third majority in the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi asked instead of the 2011 census why should not the ongoing census be used? Indian National Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Gandhi pointed out that NSVA was already passed in 2023 and BJP can implement it within the current strength of the house instead of adding 307 extra seats which imply that men are preserving their seats. The Tamil Nadu-based Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said tying women reservation to delimitation was a trap and a population based delimitation will be injustice to southern states who had carried out family planning in the past. Aam Aadmi Party’s MP Malvinder Singh Kang opposed the Bill adding that even the current LS structure discriminates against Panjab which has 13 seats. In the final vote, BJP-led NDA was 62 votes short of two-third majority in the LS and the motion was defeated. This is the first time since 2014 that a BJP sponsored Bill has failed in the Parliament. BJP notified the earlier NSVA on the night of 16 Apr but women’s rights groups have asked the government to delink the Act from census and delimitation and propose it again in the next session (earlier coverage).