A controversy in India is building up regarding delimitation bill for quite some time. The Union Government introduced the Delimitation Bill 2026 alongside the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill., but it failed to pass in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026. It secured only 298 votes in favor and 230 against while the constitutionally mandated two-thirds majority required 352 votes. The government aimed to fast-track this process by unfreezing delimitation and basing it on the 2011 Census but opposition political parties favoured waiting till 2026 Census is completed. The new delimitation bill based on 2011 Census would have increased the maximum Lok Sabha capacity to 850 seats from thr present 550. . Although the opposition favoured the Women’s Reservation Bill, officially known as the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, passed earlier by the Parliament of India on September 21, 2023, it is opposed to government’s intent of fast tracking its implementation with passing of the delimitation bill in the Lok Sabha. Rather opposition wanted its early implementation even with existing seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as about three years have lapsed since it was passed.
The delimitation bill aims to redraw the boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies and reallocate political representation among states based on population. This is an exercise conducted on intervals to account for change in population and accordingly change the size and allocation of constituencies in the country for parliamentary and state assembly representations. This exercise ensures that each constituency maintains a relatively equal number of voters, supporting the principle of equal representation.
Under the Constitution of India, the delimitation exercise is mandated to take place after the completion of every population census to readjust the boundaries and seat allocations of parliamentary and legislative assembly constituencies. Articles 82 and 170 stipulate that Parliament must enact a Delimitation Act and establish a Delimitation Commission after each Census to ensure fair representation and equal vote value across constituencies. However, this interval has been repeatedly suspended and frozen over the past several decades. To encourage state-level population control efforts and maintain the federal balance, the 42nd Amendment (1976) froze the total number of Lok Sabha and State Assembly seats based on the 1971 Census. Although the 84th Amendment (2001) extended this freeze until the first census conducted after the year 2026. Consequently, the most recent delimitation occurred in 2002 using 2001 Census data, but it only readjusted boundaries within states without altering the total number of seats (which have remained stuck at 1971 figures), Now the delimitation exercise is due again as the freeze on altering the number of seats expires with the first census published after 2026..
In the Monsoon session of Lok Sabha, the government intends to put the delimitation bill based on 2011 census along with a proposal to implement Women’s reservation act (106th constitutional amendment) for passing but the opposition parties are requesting to wait till the results of Census 2026 is available. The Women’s Reservation Bill, officially known as the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, was passed by the Parliament of India on September 21, which guarantees a 33% reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) and state legislative assemblies. According to original plan it was slated to come into effect following the completion of the next census and subsequent delimitation exercise.
Opposition criticized delaying of implementation of 106th Constitutional Amendment (Women’s Reservation Act) despite getting passed in 2023 with their overwhelming support and expressed readiness to implement it without waiting for new delimitation exercise. The opposition also insistas that 2026 Census should be used as basis for new delimitation exercise. Further, there is another problem which needs a considered and consensual solution, i.e. change in the allocation of parliamentary and assembly seats to South Indian States which spearheaded population control in India and achieved remarkable success. The delimitation exercise based on population Census is apprehended to create a “North-South divide”. The Southern states, which successfully controlled population growth, strongly oppose allocating seats strictly by population. They argue that this model penalizes them by reducing their political representation and empowering higher-population northern states, thus disrupting India’s federal balance. .Given the lack of consensus among the political parties and present membership strength of the ruling party, it seems doubtful that the 131st Amendment gets passed in the Lok Sabha even in the monsoon session.