India to decide women's quota bill as row over parliamentary seats intensifies

Southern Indian leaders urge mass mobilisation over concerns about redrawing electoral boundaries.

The Centre plans to introduce a Constitution amendment bill to operationalize 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by increasing the Lok Sabha's strength from 543 to up to 850.

A new bill is set to be introduced in Parliament to operationalize the 33% women's reservation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies by increasing the number of seats and amending the Constitution.

The government’s legislative push to reserve a third of the seats in Parliament and state legislative assemblies involves raising the cap on seats in the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850, with the allocation of seats to states, the reserved constituencies and their boundaries being defined by a delimitation commission on the basis of the latest census, which would mean the 2011 one in this case.

Three proposed bills are set to be debated in the Parliament of India over the next three days, with the government claiming they are necessary to implement 33% reservation for women, while the Opposition says they raise serious political and constitutional questions.

The Centre has set the stage for a transformative redrawing of India's electoral map by proposing a cap of 850 seats for the Lok Sabha, with sources indicating a likely uniform 50% increase for both Parliament and assemblies. The move could raise the future majority mark beyond 400 while incorporating over 270 women MPs under a quota system from 2029.

Opposition parties have raised concerns over the delimitation process, fearing it could lead to gerrymandering and affect the political balance in the country.

The Centre plans to introduce a Constitution amendment bill to operationalize 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by expanding its strength to up to 850 seats and redrawing constituencies based on 2011 Census data.