Gloves off: Govt, Opposition set for delimitation duel in Parliament

The government and the Opposition are set to cross swords in the Lok Sabha on Thursday as a three-day special sitting of Parliament begins with a debate on a key Constitution amendment bill that has provisions for the women's quota law implementation and the contentious delimitation exercise.

While the government is set to push The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 as a big-ticket reform, the Opposition has decided to oppose the bill due to its provisions on delimitation. Both sides are rallying support at Centre as well as in states amid concerns in the southern part of the country that a delimitation exercise under the provisions of the bill would reduce their political standing because of a better performance on population control.

On the eve of the special three-day sitting of Parliament, top Opposition leaders met here at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss and evolve a joint strategy on the bills brought for the implementation of the women’s quota law and delimitation.

Besides Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the other leaders at the meeting included DMK's T R Baalu, the RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, Trinamool Congress's Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant, and the NCP-SCP's Supriya Sule, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joining virtually.

CPI leader Annie Raja, the CPI-M's Nilotpal Basu, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Independent MP Kapil Sibal, the IUML's E T Mohammed Bashir and the RSP's N K Premachandran also attended the meeting, other than Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh.

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Kharge said the Opposition parties decided to unitedly vote against the delimitation provisions in the Constitution amendment bill in Parliament, asserting that they were not against women's reservation but opposed to the "politically motivated" manner in which the bill was being brought.

All Opposition parties want that one-third reservation be given to women, and it be implemented based on the current Lok Sabha strength of 543 for the next general election in 2029, Ramesh told reporters after the meeting.

In a post on X, Gandhi alleged that the government's proposed amendments to the Constitution constitute an "attempted power grab" through the use of delimitation and gerrymandering. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha emphasised that his party would not permit southern, northeastern, northwestern, and smaller states to be treated unfairly.

The government plans to bring a Constitution amendment bill, a bill on delimitation law and an enabling bill for Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry -- three Union territories with a legislature -- on Thursday in the Lok Sabha to fast-track implementation of the women's reservation Act of 2023.

Lok Sabha seats will be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls following a delimitation exercise to be carried out on the basis of the last published census.

According to the draft Constitution amendment bill, which will be introduced and is expected to be passed in the upcoming special sitting of Parliament, seats would also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.

Amending the Constitution requires a special majority in both Houses of Parliament: a majority of the total membership (more than 50 per cent) and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting. So if all 540 members, that are there in the House currently, are present and voting, the two-thirds majority mark would be 360.

The total strength of the NDA in the Lok Sabha stands at 292, while the major Opposition parties have 233 MPs.

There is discomfort and growing opposition among southern states over apprehensions that a delimitation would reduce their political weight vis-a-vis their northern counterparts.

Two prominent non-BJP chief ministers from the south -- the DMK's M K Stalin (Tamil Nadu) and the Congress's A Revanth Reddy (Telangana) -- have sharpened their attack on the Centre over the issue of delimitation, with the Tamil Nadu CM warning of a "massive agitation" if the state was harmed and his Telangana counterpart flagging "injustice".

Reddy has written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to convene an all-party meeting to deliberate on the proposed delimitation, alleging that an increase in Lok Sabha seats based on pro rata, without considering economic contribution, would lead to a distortion in the country's federal balance.

Reddy has also written to his counterparts from Andhra Pradesh (Chandrababu Naidu), Karnataka (Siddaramaiah), Kerala (Pinarayi Vijayan), Puducherry (N Rangasamy) and Tamil Nadu, calling for collective engagement among southern states to ensure that their concerns are articulated effectively at the national level.

The ruling NDA has also closed ranks and rallied behind the prime minister, pitching the move for early implementation of the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' as a "historic step".

In a letter to the women of the country, Modi has asserted that Indian democracy will become stronger and more vibrant if elections to the Lok Sabha and the various assemblies in 2029 are held with the women's quota fully in place.

Modi said that when women become active participants in policy and decision-making, the journey towards Viksit Bharat (developed India) is strengthened.