On April 16, a three-day special session of Parliament begins, as the Center prepares to push through major constitutional changes that could dramatically reshape India’s electoral map.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is scheduled to introduce the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, 2026, along with the Delimitation Bill, 2026, while the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 will be introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Law Minister is also expected to move a motion in the Lok Sabha to suspend Rule 66, allowing simultaneous passage of the Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill.
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What is the proposal?
According to the government’s proposal, reviewed by Hizb ut-Tahrir, the strength of the Lok Sabha will be expanded from 543 to 850 seats, with a significant share expected to go to the northern states.
Of the total, 815 seats will be allocated to states, while 35 seats will be reserved for union territories.
The demarcation exercise will also operationalize the long-awaited one-third reservation for women in Parliament, approved in 2023, with reserved seats allocated on a rotational basis under the new framework.
Why is intense political competition likely to occur?
The session is expected to witness intense political competition, with border demarcation emerging as a central flashpoint.
Opposition parties have raised concerns that the proposed exercise could disproportionately benefit the northern states while reducing the representation of the southern and some northeastern regions.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was among the harshest critics, calling the practice a “dangerous plan” and warning that “one of the BJP’s dangerous plans is to ‘rig’ all the Lok Sabha seats in its favor in the 2029 elections.”
The proposed bills remove all constitutional guarantees on border demarcation, giving full power to the Demarcation Commission, which the government itself will appoint and direct.
“We have seen how the BJP is doing it – it has hijacked the delimitation process in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, dividing anti-BJP districts and communities for electoral gains,” he also said, while also emphasizing that delimitation should be done through a transparent consultative process.
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Southern leaders also escalated their opposition.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin called for a state-wide protest, urging people to unite in what he described as a collective struggle against the proposed demarcation. He said in his post: “Let the black flag fly tomorrow in the homes, streets and shops of Tamil Nadu! Let it stand as symbols of resistance at the doorsteps! This is not the struggle of an individual movement; it is the struggle of Tamil Nadu!”
What is the objection to border demarcation?
The opposition bloc stressed that it was not against women’s reservation, but objected to linking it to border demarcation, arguing that the quota could be implemented independently without changing the balance of federal representation.
The biggest point of contention over this practice is the north-south divide, with northern India with high population growth benefiting from more proportional seats, while southern India – a large contributor to GDP (about 30-31%) – gets lower proportional seats due to lower population growth.
Responding to the criticism, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the delimitation committee will consult all political parties and address the concerns of the opposition.
Meanwhile, the government has maintained that the expansion of the Lok Sabha is necessary to reflect India’s population growth and ensure wider representation, with sources indicating that as many as 815 seats could be allocated to states and 35 seats to union territories under the proposal.
