India’s Parliament is set to vote Friday on three key bills that could expand the size of the legislative body to increase representation of women lawmakers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Thursday proposed the amendment bill in a special session of Parliament, which aims to bring forward the implementation of the 2023 law guaranteeing 33% quota for women in the national Parliament and state assemblies from the 2029 general elections.
The women’s quota is linked to a separate and controversial bill to redraw voting boundaries based on population under the Delimitation Bill.
The opposition has accused Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government of using the women’s quota issue as a ploy to garner more votes ahead of the 2029 elections. It has also questioned the government’s intentions behind linking the quota with the redrawing of voting boundaries based on the census.
On Thursday, there was a 12-hour marathon debate on the bills in Parliament, with both Modi and the opposition taking digs at each other.
Which three bills are being considered in the Indian Parliament?
The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposes to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, from 543 to approximately 850, including 815 members from states and 35 members from Union Territories.
The Delimitation Bill, 2026 establishes a Delimitation Commission tasked with making changes in seat allocation in Parliament and State Assemblies on the basis of the latest population census conducted in 2011 and redrawing constituency boundaries accordingly. Currently, the 1971 census defines the composition of the Lok Sabha. The 84th Amendment Act of 2001 sealed the constituency boundaries until the first census after 2026.
The Union Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 works in tandem with the first two Bills to increase the one-third quota for women in the assemblies of Union Territories, including Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.
Opposition’s uproar over delimitation
In short, women’s quotas enjoy broad inter-party support.
But opposition parties are concerned that a population-based redistribution of seats would favor the BJP, which has a large support base in the densely populated northern states.
Another controversy comes from the southern states of India.
The BJP has found itself in the crosshairs of southern leaders, who say population-based delimitation will unfairly tilt political representation in favor of northern states, where population growth has been higher.
He has also questioned whether states in the South are being “punished” for better population control and economic development.
On Thursday, Congress Party leader Priyanka Gandhi demanded implementation of women’s quota law on the basis of existing 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Currently the share of women in the lower house is 14%.
What did Modi say?
Modi, in his parliamentary address on Thursday, said the bills were aimed at increasing women’s participation in governance.
He said, “We are providing a new direction to the country. We are trying to create a positive impact. This will shape a new direction in the political arena. I feel fortunate to be part of a moment that brings half the population into policy-making.”
“Women have not forgotten those who stood against their rights,” she said.
The Prime Minister attempted to downplay concerns about the delimitation exercise, saying the process would not do any injustice to any state or discriminate against anyone.
Presenting the figures, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah assured that the current proportional representation of the southern states would remain largely unchanged and would not be affected by delimitation.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin rejected the verbal assurances of Modi and Shah and described the bill as a “calculated fraud” and said it would not be accepted.
Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 comes into force before voting on amendments
Even as discussions continue on amendments to the women’s quota law, a notification from the Law Ministry revealed that the Women’s Reservation Act 2023 has come into effect from Thursday.
Indian media reports quoted officials as saying it was a “technical” move to implement the proposed amendment under debate in Parliament.
An official told news agency PTI that it was necessary to enforce the law as without this step its proposed amendment would not have come into force.
The report said the law is in place but its provisions cannot be implemented immediately.
The law states that reservation will come into effect only after a fresh delimitation process is conducted based on the next census, the report said.
Congress’s Upper House chief whip Jairam Ramesh called the notification “absolutely bizarre”.
“The Nari Shakti Vandan Act, passed in September 2023, has come into force from today, while the amendments to it are being debated and will be voted on tomorrow. Completely surprised,” he said, referring to the Act on X.
When will the vote take place?
Voting is scheduled to begin at 4pm (11:30am CET).
A constitutional amendment requires a special two-thirds majority to be passed in Parliament.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government does not have a two-thirds majority and will rely on smaller parties and opposition groups to support the bills.
Edited by: Rana Taha