Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 Defeated in Lok Sabha: NDA's First Legislative Setback
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was put to a vote in Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026, after a 21-hour debate spanning two days.
The bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 votes against — a total of 528 MPs voted.
To pass, a constitutional amendment requires a special majority: a majority of the total membership of the House (272 of 543) AND at least 2/3rd of members present and voting (352 of 528 = ~352 votes). The bill fell short by 54 votes.
This became the NDA government's first legislative defeat since 2014, marking a significant political moment.
Following the bill's defeat, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju withdrew two linked bills — the Delimitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The bill had proposed increasing Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 and linking the implementation of women's 33% reservation (already enacted via the 106th Amendment in 2023) to a fresh delimitation exercise.
Constitutional Amendment Procedure: Article 368
Article 368 vests Parliament with the power to amend the Constitution. It lays out three tiers of amendment: (1) by simple majority (not covered under Article 368 — e.g., creation of new states under Article 3); (2) by special majority — majority of total membership of each House AND 2/3rd of members present and voting; (3) by special majority PLUS ratification by at least half the state legislatures (for federal provisions).
The bill secured 298 yes votes against a requirement of 352 (2/3rd of 528 present and voting), falling short by 54 votes. The dual threshold nature of Article 368 makes constitutional amendments deliberately difficult, requiring broad consensus — which the government could not secure given strong opposition.
NDA's Coalition Arithmetic and Legislative Defeats
The NDA controls a majority in Lok Sabha but not the enhanced two-thirds majority required under Article 368. With 543 seats total, the NDA's seat tally of approximately 293 seats (after 2024 elections) means it must rely on cross-party support for constitutional amendments. This structural constraint is why constitutional amendments are rare even for governments with comfortable majorities.
Key Details
- NDA won approximately 293 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, short of a special majority
- 272 seats = simple majority threshold in Lok Sabha
- 362 seats = 2/3rd of total membership (the higher threshold sometimes cited; the actual requirement is 2/3rd of members present and voting)
- Previous constitutional amendments under NDA: 99th (NJAC), 100th (Land Boundary Agreement), 101st (GST), 102nd (OBC list), 103rd (EWS), 104th (SC/ST reservation extension), 106th (Women's Reservation) — all passed with opposition support or during periods of numerical dominance
The bill's defeat signals the limits of coalition governance when constitutional changes require supermajorities. The opposition's near-unified front on the delimitation linkage proved decisive.
- Vote count: 298 in favour, 230 against, out of 528 MPs who voted
- Required: 2/3rd of 528 = 352 votes (needed 54 more than received)
- Lok Sabha total strength: 543 seats
- The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill sought to increase Lok Sabha seats to 850
- Three bills were tabled together: 131st Amendment Bill, Delimitation Bill 2026, UT Laws Amendment Bill 2026
- After the constitutional amendment failed, the other two bills were withdrawn
- The 106th Amendment (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023) already provides for 33% reservation but is linked to post-census delimitation
- This was the NDA government's first outright legislative defeat since coming to power in 2014