Women's reservation bill fails floor test in Lok Sabha as NDA falls short of two-thirds majority
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 — the constitutional backbone of the government's women's reservation and delimitation package — failed the floor test in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026.
The NDA alliance, with approximately 293 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha, secured 298 votes in favour but needed 352 (two-thirds of the 528 present and voting) to pass the constitutional amendment.
A united opposition bloc of approximately 230 votes defeated the measure — in a rare instance of the INDIA bloc holding together completely on a constitutional vote.
The bill's defeat immediately triggered the withdrawal of the linked Delimitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
This marks the first instance of the NDA government failing to pass a constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha since 2014.
Floor Test vs. Constitutional Majority: Key Distinctions
In parliamentary parlance, a "floor test" typically refers to a vote of confidence — testing whether a government commands majority support on the floor of the House. In a broader sense, any division vote tests a bill on the floor. For constitutional amendment bills, the relevant test is not the government's ability to remain in power (simple majority = more than half of 272 members present and voting) but the bill's ability to cross the two-thirds threshold of members present and voting. A government can survive a no-confidence motion with a simple majority while simultaneously failing to pass a constitutional amendment that requires a supermajority.
Key Details
- Simple majority (Article 100): more than half of members present and voting — applies to ordinary legislation
- Absolute majority: majority of total membership (at least 272 of 543) — applies to some specific constitutional provisions
- Special majority (Article 368): two-thirds of members present and voting AND majority of total membership — applies to constitutional amendments
- Effective majority: more than half of the effective strength (total membership minus vacancies) — applies to Rajya Sabha removal of Vice President
- No-confidence motion: requires simple majority under Article 75(3) — not relevant here but a common UPSC comparison point
The NDA's ~293 seats gave it a comfortable simple majority but was structurally insufficient for a two-thirds supermajority without opposition support. The term "floor test" here is used loosely — what was actually tested was the government's ability to secure a special constitutional majority.
NDA's Lok Sabha Arithmetic and the Supermajority Problem
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections returned the NDA with approximately 293 seats out of 543 — BJP alone won 240 seats, falling short of the 272 majority mark on its own. The coalition arithmetic means the government's working majority depends on allies. For ordinary legislation, 272+ votes suffice. For constitutional amendments, the bar rises to 362 (two-thirds of the total strength of 543) if all members are present, or 352 of 528 present and voting in this instance. No single party in Indian history has commanded a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha since the 1970s — constitutional amendments have therefore always required some degree of cross-party consensus.
Key Details
- BJP's 2024 Lok Sabha seats: approximately 240 (short of the 272 simple majority mark)
- NDA total 2024: approximately 293 seats
- INDIA bloc approximate strength: approximately 230 seats
- Two-thirds of 543 total sanctioned strength: 362 votes (required if all present)
- Two-thirds of 528 present and voting: 352 votes (required in this specific vote)
- Government secured: 298 votes (some non-NDA members may have voted with government)
- Historical context: Congress-led governments routinely commanded two-thirds+ majorities in the 1950s-70s, enabling multiple constitutional amendments without opposition support
The defeat illustrates that the NDA's current Lok Sabha strength — while sufficient for governing — is insufficient for unilateral constitutional change. The government required approximately 59 more votes than it received.
Consequences of a Failed Constitutional Amendment Bill
When a constitutional amendment bill is defeated in one House of Parliament, it lapses — there is no provision for a second reading in the same session or a joint sitting. The government may re-introduce the bill in a future session. However, re-introduction requires renewed political will, fresh parliamentary time, and potentially a different political context. Legislative lapse may also require re-tabling the bill from scratch in a future Lok Sabha if the current Lok Sabha is dissolved before the bill is re-introduced and passed.
Key Details
- Article 107(3): if a bill lapses due to dissolution of Lok Sabha, it does not survive into the next Lok Sabha (no protection for bills pending in Parliament at dissolution)
- Constitutional amendment bills have no special continuity provision — they must be reintroduced if they lapse
- The linked ordinary bills (Delimitation Bill, UT Laws Amendment Bill) can be re-introduced independently, but only after a future constitutional amendment creates the enabling framework
- Political consequence: the defeat creates momentum for a renegotiated approach to delimitation — potentially using the 2027 Census and including OBC sub-quotas
The 131st Amendment Bill's defeat means the government must either accept the 2027 Census timeline and potentially include OBC sub-quotas in a future constitutional amendment, or find a path to build the supermajority coalition it lacked in April 2026.
- Vote: 298 ayes, 230 noes, 0 abstentions; 528 present and voting
- Required: 352 (two-thirds of 528)
- Shortfall: 54 votes
- NDA approximate strength: ~293 seats; INDIA bloc: ~230 seats
- Two-thirds of total Lok Sabha strength (543): 362 votes (if all members present)
- First NDA constitutional amendment bill defeat since 2014
- Bills withdrawn after defeat: Delimitation Bill 2026, UT Laws Amendment Bill 2026
- Proposed Lok Sabha strength under 131st Amendment: 850 seats (815 from states + 35 from UTs)
- Current Lok Sabha strength: 543 seats (based on 1971 Census data, frozen since 42nd Amendment 1976)
- 106th Amendment (women's reservation) notified April 16, 2026 — day before the defeat
- Without new enabling legislation, women's reservation cannot be implemented before the 2034 General Elections