New Delhi: During the three-day special budget session, the Centre will introduce a set of bills in Parliament. These bills are aimed at restructuring
political representation. As part of the Central government's Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, the strength of the Lok Sabha will be expanded from 553 seats to a maximum of 850. Out of these, 815 will be elected from states, and the remaining 35 will be from union territories. According to reports, the government is planning to increase the Lok Sabha strength in view of the 33 per cent reservation to women, as per PTI. The proposed legislation is part of broader legislative changes that also include the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026, also proposes an amendment to Article 82 of the Constitution. This Article mandates the government to readjust the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies after each census. However, if the bill is passed, it would delink this clause and would mean that the government can carry out the delimitation exercise even before the next census is published. Meanwhile, the amendment to Article 81, the Lok Sabha will have 850 members, including 35 from union territories. Notably, for the implementation of the one-third women's reservation in the next Lok Sabha election, it is mandatory to delimit delimitation and census. Notably, the Centre is also moving the Delimitation Bill 2026 to repeal and replace the Delimitation Act, 2002, reported Live Law. Setting Up Of Delimitation Commission: The Delimitation Bill will give power to the Centre to constitute a Delimitation Commission through notification in the Official Gazette. This commission will reportedly be chaired by a former or current judge of the Supreme Court. It will also include the Chief Election Commissioner and a State Election Commissioner. As per the Live Law report, the Commission will associate ten members for each state. Five of its members will be MPs, and the remaining five will be from state assemblies. Notably, these members will not have voting authority. Their job is to assist the commission in its work. Also Read: Opinion | ‘Sonia Gandhi vs Facts’: BJP’s Poiny-by-Point Rebuttal On Women’s Reservation Bill The key feature of this bill is that orders issued by the Delimitation Commission will become law and cannot be questioned in any court once published in the Gazette of India. Some reports claim that due to this proposed delimitation exercise, states with high population, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal will get more representation in the Lok Sabha. However, reports are also floating that some southern states will lose their representation. However, there is no official word from the government in this regard. Opposition's Reaction: A meeting of opposition parties is slated to be held tomorrow at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge regarding framing strategy on the constitution amendment bill related to the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women.
Opposition leaders alleged that the Central government is "deliberately mixed up" three different issues - women's reservation, national delimitation, and increase in seats in Lok Sabha.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin raised concerns that the proposed delimitation plan would affect southern states. Stalin demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should provide assurance in Parliament that the proposed delimitation exercise would not have any impact on southern states.
Sonia Gandhi's Slams Government:
Congress Parliamentary Party chairpersonSonia Gandhi on Monday asserted the real issue with the government's move to bring bills in a special sitting of Parliament this week is delimitation, not women's reservation, and claimed that the reported delimitation proposal is "extremely dangerous" as well as an "assault on the Constitution itself."
Gandhi stressed that any delimitation involving an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha must be politically, and not just arithmetically, equitable.
MK Stalin's Warning:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday (April 14) slammed the Centre over the proposed delimitation exercise and warned of massive agitations across the state if southern states are disproportionately affected. Stalin alleged that the union government had an intention to bulldoze a constitutional amendment without any consultation with states.
Stalin, in a video message, said that without consulting not just the DMK but any political party or any state, the BJP-led Centre was attempting to proceed unilaterally.
"Not only in Tamil Nadu, but across India, we brought together Chief Ministers of states that stand to be affected, as well as leaders of major political parties, and convened a Joint Action Committee meeting in Chennai. When the Union government urged us to control population growth, to have smaller families, and to follow family planning measures, we complied," Stalin said.
He further added, "Is this now the punishment for having done what was asked of us with discipline? We demanded that the honourable Prime Minister provide a clear assurance in Parliament that southern states would not be affected. There has been no response."
