The special session of Parliament is going to start from April 16, in which the government is preparing to implement 33 percent women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies before the year 2029. For this, the government is going to present three big bills. The first bill is related to the Delimitation Act 2026, the second is the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill and the third is the amendment bill related to the implementation of women’s reservation in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.
Under the 131st Constitutional Amendment, the Central Government is proposing to increase the existing 543 seats of the Lok Sabha to a maximum of 850. There will be 815 seats for states and 35 seats for union territories. However, this will be the maximum limit and the actual number of seats will be increased by the Delimitation Commission. Out of these total seats, 33 percent seats will be reserved for women. This reservation will be implemented under a rotation system, that is, different seats can be reserved for women in every election. This system will remain in force for 15 years, after which the Parliament can extend it if it wishes.
How will the delimitation work be completed?
The basis for delimitation will be the latest census data. However, it is not yet clear whether the 2011 census data will be taken for this or the 2026 census data. The 543 seats so far are based on the 1971 census. A delimitation commission will be formed under the new law. The chairman of this commission can be a present or former judge of the Supreme Court. Apart from this, the Chief Election Commissioner or the Election Commissioner nominated by him and the Chief Electoral Officer of the respective states will be its members. 5-5 members of Lok Sabha and Assembly from each state will also be included, whose nomination will be made by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Speaker of the respective Assembly. The decision of the commission will be considered final.
When was the last delimitation done?
The thing to note is that the last delimitation took place in 2002, but then only the boundaries of seats were changed, the number of seats was not increased. The government plans to complete the delimitation process before the 2029 elections. Only after this, 33 percent women’s reservation will be implemented in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. However, a big challenge may also arise in this. In some states, after delimitation, the number of assembly seats can be more than 500, whereas according to Article 170 of the Constitution, no state can have more than 500 seats in the assembly. In such a situation, either another constitutional amendment will have to be made or some other way will have to be found.
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