Government intensifies preparations to increase Lok Sabha seats through delimitation bill

The Central Government is planning to pass the 'Delimitation Bill, 2026' by convening a special session of Parliament in the near future. According to a report by 'The Hindu', the main objective of this bill is to increase the current number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to a maximum of 850. The government believes that this change is indispensable to implement the Women's Reservation Act, 2023. This entire process will be undertaken based on the 2011 census. The government is confident regarding the required strength to pass this bill and, in their view, they have 15 to 16 votes more than the necessary numbers. A two-thirds majority, i.e., 361 votes, is required in the House to pass a constitutional amendment bill, while three seats are currently vacant in the 543-member House.

Earlier, on 17 April, during the Budget Session, the government had also introduced a similar constitutional amendment bill, but it could not be passed at that time due to lack of the required strength. The current Monsoon Session was adjourned sine die on 13 August, but it has not yet been officially declared prorogued. This session has been continuing for 91 days without being prorogued, setting a new record by breaking the previous record of 87 days in 2008. As per the rules, only two days' notice is required to extend the current session, while at least 14 days' notice must be given to convene a new session.

According to a report by 'Business Standard', this expansion of seats has brought the issue of political balance between North and South India back into discussion. During talks with opposition parties, especially parties from South India, in the month of April, the government had proposed that the Lok Sabha seats of all states would be increased by 50 per cent. The aim of this step was to maintain the current proportion of seats between states based on the 1971 census, so as to address the concerns of the Southern states. However, the bill introduced in April did not include this amendment, but there are now discussions that an amendment for a 50 per cent increase in seats may be incorporated.

On the other hand, the Congress party has sharply criticised the government's planning. Targeting Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress communications chief Jayram Ramesh said that he is once again raising the issue of 'delimitation'. He claimed that Amit Shah's claim of passing the bill with a margin of 15 to 18 votes is far from reality. Jayram Ramesh further stated that the government had made a similar claim seven months ago, but on 17 April, they faced a massive defeat of more than 50 votes in the Lok Sabha. He termed the government's efforts as 'bluff and bluster'.

Furthermore, according to a report by NDTV India, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavhan has claimed that Prime Minister Modi wants to pass this bill in haste and needs additional votes for this. According to Chavhan, the government is trying to seek help from NCP MPs for this purpose.

Delimitation is a process in which the boundaries of the country's electoral constituencies are determined. In India, a Delimitation Commission is set up to re-determine the seats of the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies based on population. The main objective of this process is to ensure that every voter has equal representation and that seats are reconstituted taking into account population changes.