A three-day special session of Parliament beginning April 16 is set to deliberate on key constitutional amendments, including the proposed delimitation exercise and implementation of women’s reservation, triggering sharp political reactions across the country.
The Centre is planning to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha by nearly 50%, from 543 seats to around 816–850, as part of the exercise linked to delimitation.
This expansion is aimed at enabling the rollout of 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, as mandated under the 2023 law.
However, the implementation of women’s reservation is tied to a fresh delimitation process based on population data, which has become a major point of contention. The delimitation exercise is expected after the next Census, with constituency boundaries and seat allocations to be redrawn accordingly.
Opposition parties, including the INDIA bloc, have raised concerns that a population-based redistribution could disproportionately benefit northern states while reducing the relative representation of southern states that have successfully controlled population growth.