The conclusion that can be drawn from the ongoing debate in the Lok Sabha of Parliament regarding the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill related to women’s reservation is that the Modi government wants to keep the constitutional amendment made in 2023 alive as well. This ensures that even if the current 131st Amendment fails in the Lok Sabha, the reservation law will continue to remain in force. For this reason, the government has notified the law made in 2023 in the Gazette of India and implemented it from April 16. In a way, it can be said that the Modi government wants to keep its options open in this matter.
The government has introduced the 131st Amendment in 2026 to make changes to the women’s reservation law passed in 2023, which is currently under discussion. The question is straightforward: does the Modi government have the required two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament—the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha—to pass the current bills? The answer is no. Due to this possibility, the new women’s reservation bill fell in the Lok Sabha. Along with this, the government also withdrew two other bills related to delimitation and Union Territories.
In the Lok Sabha, the ruling BJP-led NDA alliance has a total of 293 MPs, while the opposition has 234 members. The current strength of the Lok Sabha is 540. To achieve a two-thirds majority, the Modi government needs 360 MPs. Thus, it required 67 more MPs. When voting took place on the bill, 298 votes were in favor and 230 against, leading to the bill being defeated. Possibly anticipating this risk, the Modi government implemented the 2023 women’s reservation law the previous night.
The 2023 law provides that it will be implemented only after the delimitation of constituencies, so that the commission can identify new constituencies. The delimitation commission will be formed only after a new census. Therefore, the Modi government made provisions to amend this law, stating that even without a new census, the delimitation commission could increase the total Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 based on the 2011 census.
The country’s main opposition party, Congress, along with its INDIA alliance partners, is strongly opposing this and argues that when both Houses of Parliament had unanimously passed the women’s reservation bill in 2023, what was the need to introduce a new 131st Amendment in 2026? This argument from the opposition carries weight. The Modi government says it wants to implement women’s reservation as soon as possible, hence it is delinking it from the ongoing census. However, the opposition claims that under the guise of women’s reservation, the government wants to carry out delimitation based on its political interests, similar to what it allegedly did in Jammu & Kashmir and Assam.
This is clearly a political issue because once the delimitation commission redraws constituencies, it cannot be challenged even in the Supreme Court. The opposition questions why a new bill is being introduced two and a half years after reserving 33% seats for women in 2023. It alleges that the government’s intentions are different and that it aims to form a delimitation commission without conducting a fresh census to serve its political interests.
Interestingly, in 2023 all opposition parties demanded immediate implementation of women’s reservation, which the government did not accept at that time. Now in 2026, when the government says it will form a delimitation commission without a new census, the opposition is strongly opposing it. The opposition also argues that 33% reservation should have already been implemented within the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats in 2023 itself, rather than linking it to census and delimitation.
Clearly, the Modi government does not have a two-thirds majority in both Houses. Based on the numbers, the 131st Amendment Bill could fail, which is why the government has notified the 2023 law. Another reason is that on April 16, when three bills (women’s reservation, delimitation commission, and increasing seats in Union Territories from 20 to 30) were reintroduced, opposition MPs demanded voting at the time of their introduction. During this vote, 436 MPs were present, of whom 251 supported taking the bills up for consideration and 185 opposed. This created concern for the government, as it needs 360 MPs to pass the bills.
To strengthen its position, the government notified the 2023 law. During the debate, MPs from both sides praised women’s empowerment and cited historical references. The Prime Minister sought opposition support, while Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi referred to recommendations made as early as 1928 under Motilal Nehru and the 1931 Karachi Congress session led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which proposed fundamental rights for all citizens.
Home Minister Amit Shah also made an important statement, asserting that no one can destroy India’s democracy, responding to opposition claims that the new bills harm democratic principles.
Overall, the conclusion is that regardless of the fate of the 131st Amendment Bill in 2026, women’s reservation will remain secure under all circumstances.
