THE DELIMITATION BILL 2026: HOW FAR CONSTITUTIONAL IS IT?
On April 17, 2026 - The Modi government attempted to get the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill passed in the Lok Sabha. The attempt was obstructed after they failed to attain the two-thirds majority required. While 298 members of the Lok Sabha voted in favour of the bill, rejection came from 230 members. Out of 528 members present during the session, the ruling government required 320 votes to get the bill passed.
After the rejection, Home Minister Amit Shah blamed the opposition for not supporting women's reservation. However, what the Home Minister refrained from mentioning was the Women's Reservation Act that was unanimously passed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in 2023.
The Women's Reservation Act, 2023
In 2023, the Women's Reservation Act came as the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act. Popularly known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the bill was passed after 454 members of the Lok Sabha and 214 members of the Rajya Sabha voted in favour of the Act.
The Women's Reservation Act guaranteed 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. But a critical condition was attached to it: the possibility of women's reservation was dependent on a delimitation exercise which needs to be undertaken after Census was conducted following the law, and the ensuing rearrangement of constituencies. The aforementioned contingent had been perceived critically by many. Additionally, the opposition had also called the move to get the bill passed as an "election gimmick."
The law remained nonfunctional even after Presidential approval because it needed a discrete notification under Section 1(2) to become operational. A politically-timed ploy came from the ruling government when this notification was issued on April 16, 2026 - the very day the government brought in the Delimitation Bills.
The Delimitation Exercise
The Modi government initiated a three-Bill package on April 16-17, 2026 during a special session of the Parliament. The package contained:
- The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026
- The Delimitation Bill, 2026
- The Union Territories Law (Amendment) Bill, 2026
According to PRS Legislative Research, if the Lok Sabha went on to operate with its current strength - Tamil Nadu and Kerala's seats would decrease from 32 to 30 and 20 to 15, respectively. Uttar Pradesh (80 to 89), Bihar (40 to 46) and Rajasthan (25 to 30) would witness an increase. The government offered expanding the total to 850 seats to recompense southern states in perfect numbers. Tamil Nadu's share would rise from 39 to 59, Andhra Pradesh from 25 to 38, Karnataka from 28 to 42, Kerala from 20 to 30, and Telengana from 17 to 26.
But the problem resides in the absolute additions that hide the removal of proportional representation. In addition, the Women's Reservation serves as a mere pretext for the central government to speed up the changes that would serve beneficial for the BJPs north Indian political base by raising seat share for high-population states while decreasing the proportional weight of states that have effectively managed population growth.
Constitutional Evaluation
The Constitution (Article 82) particularly mentions that delimitation will be exercised after every Census. The attempt to amend Article 82, although a constitutional move yet challenges constitutional ethics. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill states that Parliament will determine by law when to exercise delimitation, and which census to use - and Parliament could decide these with a simple majority. The Modi government's interest to conduct the delimitation exercise is based on the 2011 Census, instead of the 2026-27 Census which is already underway, has been clearly stated in the Delimitation Bills 2026.
The above contradiction highlights how significant is this constitutional shift. The Bill's selection of Parliament having discretion over delimitation timing instead of pursuing the Constitutional mandate certainly sets a precedent. We need to remember that the Indian Constitution was architected not as rigid or immutable but as a living document that will keep evolving. The flexibility of the Indian Constitution is not merely meant for formal equality but a substantive one.
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