Call all-party meet, give time to study delimitation: Mallikarjun Kharge to PM Modi
The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha wrote to the Prime Minister seeking a formal all-party meeting on the government's delimitation proposals before any further legislative steps are taken, citing insufficient time for political parties and state governments to study them
The letter reiterated an earlier request made in July 2026 for such a consultation and asked that the current strength of the Lok Sabha (543 seats) and the existing state-wise seat allocation be frozen for a further 25 years
It also called for the one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures to be implemented from the 2029 general election, independent of the delimitation exercise
This follows the failure, in April 2026, of the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 to secure the special majority required in the Lok Sabha, after which the government withdrew the companion Delimitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026
The correspondence comes amid statements from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs that no special or extended session on delimitation-related legislation has been finalised
Article 82 and the Decades-Long Freeze on Seat Allocation
Article 82 of the Constitution requires Parliament to re-adjust seat allocation among states through a Delimitation Act after every Census. However, a series of amendments has frozen the total number of seats allotted to each state since 1976, even as constituency boundaries within states have been periodically redrawn.
Key Details
- The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 froze the total number of Lok Sabha and state Assembly seats per state based on the 1971 Census, intended to avoid penalising states that had achieved better population control
- The 84th Amendment Act, 2001 extended this freeze on total seat numbers until the first Census taken after 2026
- The 87th Amendment Act, 2003 permitted the redrawing of constituency boundaries (not total seat numbers) using 2001 Census population data
- The next Census after 2026 (currently scheduled as Census 2027) is therefore the constitutional trigger point at which the freeze on total seat numbers is due to lapse, unless Parliament legislates otherwise
The demand to freeze the current 543-seat strength and state-wise allocation for a further 25 years is a demand to extend the freeze beyond its currently scheduled 2026 Census expiry, rather than let delimitation proceed based on updated population data.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Special Majority Requirement under Article 368
Amending the Constitution requires clearing a higher procedural threshold than ordinary legislation. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 — which proposed raising the maximum Lok Sabha strength from 550 to 850 seats and reallocating seats by population — failed to clear this threshold in the Lok Sabha in April 2026.
Key Details
- Article 368(2) requires a constitutional amendment bill to be passed in each House by (a) a majority of the total membership of that House, and (b) a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting — together termed a "special majority"
- Some categories of amendments (those affecting federal provisions, such as the distribution of legislative powers) additionally require ratification by at least half the state legislatures; delimitation-related seat reallocation touches similar federal sensitivities around state representation
- The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 secured more votes in favour than against in the Lok Sabha but did not reach the two-thirds-present-and-voting threshold, and therefore did not pass; the government subsequently withdrew the connected Delimitation Bill, 2026 and Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026
- This is distinct from a simple majority (used for ordinary bills) and an effective majority (used for specific procedures like the Speaker's removal under Article 94)
The Leader of the Opposition's letter seeks consultation before any renewed attempt to reintroduce or revive this constitutional amendment package, given that it earlier failed to secure the mandatory special majority.
Women's Reservation (106th Amendment Act, 2023) and Its Link to Delimitation
The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 — publicised as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam — reserves one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies, including sub-reservation within SC/ST quotas, but its commencement was tied to a future delimitation exercise.
Key Details
- Received presidential assent on 28 September 2023, becoming the 106th Constitutional Amendment
- As enacted, the reservation was to take effect only after the delimitation exercise following the first Census conducted after the Act's commencement — linking women's political representation to the same delimitation process now under dispute
- The women's reservation would rotate among constituencies after each delimitation, as provided in the amendment
- The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 sought to alter aspects of this delimitation-linked commencement framework, which is part of what made it a constitutional (rather than ordinary) amendment requiring special majority
The demand to implement women's reservation from the 2029 general election "independent of" delimitation reflects the core procedural tension — the 106th Amendment as written ties women's reservation to delimitation, so decoupling the two would itself require a further constitutional amendment.
- Current Lok Sabha strength: 543 seats (last delimitation freeze based on 1971 Census population shares)
- 42nd Amendment (1976): froze total seats per state at 1971 Census levels
- 84th Amendment (2001): extended the freeze until the first Census after 2026
- Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026: proposed raising maximum Lok Sabha strength from 550 to 850 (up to 815 from states, up to 35 from Union Territories)
- Special majority under Article 368(2): majority of total House membership + two-thirds of members present and voting
- 106th Constitutional Amendment Act (women's reservation): presidential assent 28 September 2023; commencement linked to post-Census delimitation
- Proposed timeline for implementing women's reservation, per the demand: from the 2029 Lok Sabha general election