Women's quota, delimitation bills will be passed in Monsoon Session: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale
Ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament (20 July to 13 August 2026), there are indications that a delimitation-related bill and further steps connected to the Women's Reservation Act may be taken up for passage.
A constitutional amendment bill on this subject — the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to delink the one-third women's reservation from the post-2026-census delimitation freeze and instead use the 2011 Census for the next delimitation exercise — was defeated in the Lok Sabha in April 2026, securing 298 votes in favour against 230 against, short of the two-thirds special majority required for a constitutional amendment.
The Women's Reservation Act (106th Constitutional Amendment Act), 2023, which reserves one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, was brought into force by a gazette notification on 16 April 2026, but the reservation itself does not take practical effect until delimitation is carried out after the relevant census.
Delimitation of Lok Sabha and state assembly constituencies has been frozen since the 84th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2001, pending the first census conducted after 2026.
Article 368 — Constitutional Amendment Procedure and Special Majority
Article 368 lays down the procedure for amending the Constitution. Depending on the provision being amended, a bill may require a simple majority, a "special majority," or a special majority plus ratification by half the state legislatures. Amendments affecting the federal structure (e.g., representation of states in Parliament) fall in the ratification category, while most other constitutional amendments require only the special majority.
Key Details
- Special majority under Article 368(2): a majority of the total membership of the House, and a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting — applied separately in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
- For a 543-member Lok Sabha, a majority of total membership requires at least 272 votes; the two-thirds-of-present-and-voting threshold is computed on the votes actually cast.
- The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 recorded 298 votes for and 230 against (528 members voting); two-thirds of 528 is approximately 352, so the bill fell well short despite a numerical majority of votes cast in its favour.
- The original Women's Reservation Bill (128th Amendment Bill, 2023) had cleared both Houses without a single vote against it — a contrast that highlights how special-majority thresholds, not simple headcounts, decide the fate of constitutional amendments.
Any future attempt to pass a delimitation-linked bill in the Monsoon Session will again need to clear this special-majority threshold in both Houses, which is the direct reason the equivalent bill failed just months earlier.
Women's Reservation Act (106th Constitutional Amendment Act), 2023
The 106th Amendment inserted Articles 330A and 332A into the Constitution, reserving one-third of seats (including those already reserved for SCs/STs) for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies respectively, with a corresponding provision for the Delhi Legislative Assembly. It does not extend to the Rajya Sabha or state Legislative Councils.
Key Details
- Article 334A makes the reservation's commencement contingent on delimitation carried out after the first census taken following the Act's commencement, and provides for the reservation to lapse after 15 years unless extended by Parliament.
- Reserved seats are to rotate after each delimitation exercise, in a manner to be determined by a law made by Parliament.
- Passed by the Lok Sabha on 20 September 2023 (454 votes for, 2 against) and the Rajya Sabha on 21 September 2023 (unanimous, 214 for); received presidential assent on 28 September 2023.
- Brought into force by Ministry of Law and Justice notification on 16 April 2026, but the 33% reservation remains inoperative until delimitation based on the relevant census is completed.
The statement that "women will get reservation" only after these bills pass reflects this built-in constitutional condition — the 106th Amendment's reservation cannot take effect without a delimitation exercise, which is exactly what the pending delimitation bill and the defeated 131st Amendment Bill sought to enable.
Delimitation Freeze — 84th Amendment Act, 2001 and the Delimitation Act, 2002
Article 82 empowers Parliament to provide for readjustment of Lok Sabha and assembly seats after every census, ordinarily through a Delimitation Act. The 84th Amendment Act, 2001 froze both the total number of seats and their constituency boundaries at 1971 Census levels until the first census taken after 2026, a step intended to avoid penalising states that had achieved greater success in population control.
Key Details
- Delimitation exercises were carried out in 1952, 1963, and 1973 (based on the 1951, 1961, and 1971 Censuses respectively); the most recent exercise, based on the 2001 Census, redrew constituency boundaries under the Delimitation Act, 2002 without altering total seat numbers, which remained frozen.
- The freeze is due to lift only after "the first census taken after the year 2026" — commonly understood to point to the census due around 2027.
- A separate Delimitation Bill, 2026 has been proposed to constitute a Delimitation Commission — headed by a sitting or retired Supreme Court judge, with the Chief Election Commissioner (or a nominated Election Commissioner) and the concerned State Election Commissioner as members — and to specify that the latest published census as of the Commission's constitution would be used, which would point to the 2011 Census rather than a future one.
The claim that delimitation is undertaken only "every thirty to thirty-five years" reflects this post-2001 freeze period rather than the shorter, roughly decadal gaps seen before 1971; any bill enabling an earlier delimitation would need to either lift or bypass the 84th Amendment freeze.
- Monsoon Session of Parliament, 2026: 20 July to 13 August (25-day session, 19 sittings).
- Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026: defeated in Lok Sabha, 298 votes for, 230 against (April 2026); required two-thirds of members present and voting.
- Women's Reservation Act (106th Amendment), 2023: reserves one-third of Lok Sabha and state assembly seats for women, including SC/ST quota seats; 15-year sunset clause under Article 334A.
- Act passed Lok Sabha 454–2 and Rajya Sabha unanimously (214–0) in September 2023; in force from 16 April 2026 by gazette notification.
- 84th Amendment Act, 2001: froze Lok Sabha/assembly seat numbers and constituency boundaries until the first census after 2026.
- Last full delimitation exercise: Delimitation Act, 2002, based on the 2001 Census (boundaries only, no change in total seats).