New Delhi: The Union government has proposed increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 members through The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026, to be taken up during a special session of Parliament on April 16 and 17.
Under the proposed amendment to Article 81, a maximum of 815 members will be chosen from states, with not more than 35 members to be chosen from Union Territories (UT).
Delimitation removed from Census
The Bill also proposes amending Article 82, which currently governs the readjustment of parliamentary constituencies following each Census. The proposed amendment seeks to delete the existing proviso mandating that the next delimitation exercise be carried out based on the first Census conducted after 2026, thereby allowing delimitation to proceed before the 2026-27 Census is completed.
Alongside the Constitution Amendment Bill, the Centre is also moving the Delimitation Bill, 2026, to repeal and replace the Delimitation Act, 2002.
A significant consequence of decoupling delimitation from the Census is that it could expedite the implementation of one-third women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, had linked women’s reservation to delimitation following the first Census after its enactment. The present Bill proposes to amend Article 334A to allow the reservation to take effect immediately after delimitation.
Seats reserved for women will be allotted by rotation among different constituencies, and seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) will rotate within constituencies already reserved for those categories.
Delimitation commission to be set up
The Delimitation Bill empowers the central government to constitute a Delimitation Commission through a gazette notification. The commission will be chaired by a sitting or former Supreme Court judge, and will include the Chief Election Commissioner, or a nominated Election Commissioner, and the concerned State Election Commissioner as ex officio members.
For each state, 10 associate members will assist the commission – five MPs and five MLAs nominated by the respective Speakers. These associate members will have no voting rights.
The Commission will redraw constituencies on the basis of the latest Census figures, noting that existing seat allocations are based on 1971 population data while current constituency boundaries rely on the 2001 Census.
Orders issued by the Delimitation Commission, once published in the Gazette of India, will have the force of law and cannot be challenged in any court. Existing assemblies and the House will remain unaffected until dissolution.
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