Govt proposes increase of seats in Lok Sabha to 850; Bill shared with MPs

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Apr 15, 2026: The Centre has proposed increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats under a key constitutional amendment bill aimed at expediting the implementation of the 33% women’s reservation.

The proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 suggests raising Lok Sabha seats from the current 550 to 850, including 815 seats for states and up to 35 for Union Territories. However, it retains the existing cap of 500 constituencies for state Assemblies.

The bill links the rollout of women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies to a fresh delimitation exercise based on the “latest published census.” It allows the government to use Census 2011 data as the basis, removing the earlier requirement of conducting a new Census after the enactment of the 2023 law.

Additionally, the legislation proposes changes to the constitutional provisions governing delimitation, giving Parliament the authority to decide the timing and frequency of such exercises. It redefines “population” as figures derived from a Census determined by Parliament.

The government has circulated three key bills — the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill — ahead of the resumption of the Budget Session on April 16. These are aimed at enabling the implementation of women’s reservation by the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

While the Centre has indicated a possible 50% increase in seats, the bills do not clearly outline how the additional seats will be distributed among states or how Assembly constituencies will be expanded. Notably, states like Uttar Pradesh, which already have near-maximum Assembly seats, may see limited scope for expansion.

The proposal also includes amendments to Articles 81, 82, 170, and 334(A), facilitating seat reservation for women through a rotational system across constituencies.

The government said the move would promote women’s empowerment, enhance inclusivity, and support the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 by increasing women’s participation in governance.

The number of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats has remained frozen since 1976 based on the 1971 Census, a policy initially intended to avoid penalising states that successfully controlled population growth. The freeze was later extended, delaying delimitation until after 2026.

The bill notes that significant demographic changes, including migration, urbanisation, and uneven population growth, have created disparities in constituency representation. It argues that waiting for a fresh Census before delimitation could delay women’s participation in governance, making early implementation necessary.