NEW DELHI: The government is set to set up a new delimitation commission to redraw constituencies and increase Lok Sabha and Assembly seats based on the 2011 Census. The exercise could significantly expand the strength of Parliament and state assemblies, with the Lok Sabha ceiling under Article 81 being raised by 55% to 850 from the current 550.
The demarcation will also, for the first time, reserve a third for women in parliament and state assemblies – a long-awaited plan approved in 2023.
“The current distribution of seats… is based on the population figures published as per the 1971 Census, and the division of regional constituencies is based on the population figures published as per the 2001 Census. The subsequent growth of population, across various constituencies… coupled with migration… has resulted in varying population densities in the constituencies,” Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said in the Delimitation Bill, 2026.
Under the new framework, reserved seats for women will be allocated in rotation.
“The seats reserved for women in the People’s Assembly and state legislative assemblies, including women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, will be allocated alternately to different constituencies,” the bill states. It also clarifies that the seats reserved for women within the SC/ST categories will be rotated within those constituencies.
If passed by a simple majority in both houses of Parliament, this legislation will pave the way for India’s fifth demarcation process.
In the first exercise in 1952, 494 Lok Sabha seats were allocated based on the 1951 census. This number rose to 522 in 1963 and to 543 in 1973. The 2002 delimitation exercise redrew constituency boundaries but did not increase the total number of seats, which has remained unchanged since then
The current proposal relies on the constitutional provisions stipulated in Articles 82 and 170, which provide for periodic reshuffle of seats in Parliament and state assemblies based on population census data. It also gives effect to the provisions in Articles 239AA, 330A, 332A and 334A, which provide for one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, including seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
However, the proposal differs from the 2002 changes, which stipulated that the next boundaries would be drawn on the basis of the first population census after 2026. The government has clarified that the “last census figures” refer to those available at the time the committee was formed.
This move sparked criticism from the opposition. Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said the bills were “full of errors” and pointed out the absence of provisions ensuring equality between the states.
“This is a serious violation of faith. The executive cannot direct a quasi-judicial body to do things in a certain way. Verbal assurances are meaningless,” he said, while reiterating his support for the women’s reservation.
Singhvi also criticized the legislative process, saying that the bills were shared shortly before they were introduced, without attempting to conduct multi-party consultation or referring them to a standing committee or a joint parliamentary committee.
The Bill states: “It shall be the duty of the Commission to adjust, on the basis of the latest census figures, the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives to the States and Union Territories, the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and the division of each State and Union Territories into territorial constituencies for the purpose of elections to the House of Representatives and the Legislative Assembly: Provided that in the event of such amendment only one seat in the House of Representatives is allocated to a State or Union Territory, that State or the entire Union Territory shall constitute one territorial constituency for the purpose of elections to the House of Representatives of that State or union territory.
The demarcation committee will be chaired by a serving or retired Supreme Court judge, and will include the Chief Electoral Commissioner.
Armed with 2011 census data and constitutional provisions under Articles 81, 82 and 170, the Commission will undertake a large-scale exercise to redraw electoral district boundaries and add new seats.
The draft law added: “All electoral districts shall, as far as possible, be geographically compact areas, and when determining them the physical features and existing boundaries of administrative units, communications facilities and public facilities shall be taken into account; (b) each electoral district of the House of Representatives shall be defined so as to fall entirely within a single parliamentary electoral district.”
