New Delhi: A special three-day session of Parliament will start from Thursday and it has immense political significance. The session is expected to be
a tumultuous one as the government is gearing up to introduce three major bills that could have a defining impact on the political and electoral arena of India and representation system. The government will take up the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Delimitation Bill, 2026; and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. These bills aim to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha, implement fresh delimitation based on updated Census data, and empower women in politics and Parliament.
How the bills can redraw Indian politics
The Delimitation Bill, 2026, aims to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 seats to around 850 based on the update Census data and to accommodate population changes and reservation requirements. This would modify the political landscape in the country as there will be a change of Lok Sabha seat allocation across states. Opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, have condemned the move. Gandhi has said in a post on X, “The proposed Bills remove all Constitutional safeguards on delimitation, giving full power to the Delimitation Commission which the govt itself will appoint and direct.”
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill aims to enable delimitation using the 2011 Census instead of the 1971 Census, which has been the reference point for decades. Also, the Centre, through the bill, aims to bring into effect the 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies under the Women’s Reservation Act. Also called the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the bill was passed in Parliament in 2023 but as per the legislation, it would be implemented after completing the delimitation exercise following the 2027 Census. It would have been delayed to 2034, and now the Centre is looking speed-up the process to implement it in 2029 Lok Sabha election.
How do the numbers stack up for NDA?
Apart from the Delimitation Bill that would result in the formation of a commission, the other two are Constitution amendment bills and the government needs a special majority of two-thirds of those present and voting to get it passed. If the Opposition decides to walkout or abstain from voting, the majority mark will come down. The current strength of the Lok Sabha is 537, and the two-thirds mark is 360.
The ruling NDA has 293 members in the Lower House, 67 seats less than what it needs for two-thirds majority. In Rajya Sabha, the majority mark is 163 and the NDA has 142 members, 21 seats short of the magic number. While the Opposition has approved the women’s quota bill, its relation with delimitation for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections has forced its hand. However, Union minister Kiren Rijiju has claimed that the Centre has the numbers to pass those bills.
