NEW DELHI: Key constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Tuesday welcomed the proposed roadmap for implementing the Women’s Reservation Act even as some leaders raised concerns.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 — to increase the number of seats to a maximum of 850 and reserve 33% seats for women in the Lok Sabha and UTs — and two bills to implement delimitation of boundaries in states and union territories were circulated among parliamentarians on Tuesday. The draft laws will be discussed in a special session of Parliament from April 16 to 18.
The ruling Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh said it had no concerns.
“The delimitation has been delayed for a long time with respect to Andhra Pradesh, as stated in the AP Reorganization Act. From the beginning, our party has been supporting the delimitation process and there has been no change in our stand,” TDP spokesperson Vijay Kumar said.
Regarding concerns about southern states losing their proportional share in the Lok Sabha, Kumar said party chief N Chandrababu Naidu was advocating population management rather than population control. “If that happens, there will be no room for any concerns that states with smaller populations will lose the benefits of demarcation,” the party spokesman said.
However, a senior FDP leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was still significant ambiguity in the text of the bills. “The bill says that the seats will be increased according to the latest census, but why does it not clearly state which seat? The second ambiguity is that while it says that the strength of the Parliament will increase to 815 seats and that of the Federal Assembly to 35 seats, why is there no indication of the number of seats that will increase in each state after the demarcation of boundaries?” – asked the commander.
The FDP leader also noted that there is no clear rotation mechanism for reserved constituencies. The leader added, “Will the seat remain reserved for one or two terms? There is no framework. Even the timetable is not clear – a previous version spoke of a period of 15 years, but now there is silence,” warning that the proposal could harm regional parties.
But there is still no movement to formally object to the draft laws.
A senior leader of the Janata Dal (United) (JDU) expressed similar concerns. The leader said the bill poses “fundamental challenges”, especially in socially complex states like Bihar.
“In states dominated by social classes, implementation will not be easy. It risks creating a quota within a quota, a situation that may complicate existing social equations,” the leader said.
“As discussions gather pace ahead of the upcoming special parliamentary session, the lack of clarity on key aspects — from census timelines to seat rotation — is likely to remain a sticking point within the ruling alliance,” the JD(U) leader quoted above said.
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The Shiv Sena welcomed his bills. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Eknath Shinde said: “The proposed amendments to Nari Shakti Vandhan Adhinyam are an important link in this transformation chain. As a committed member of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), I extend my full and unwavering support to this reform.”
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supported the proposed changes.
AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Satyan said it had been known for 25 years that demarcation would take place in 2026 and the new Parliament had the capacity to accommodate 1,000 MPs.
“Stalin is desperate and building a rhetoric just because the elections are in a week, and he feels that this rhetoric will help him get some votes. This will not happen because people are fed up with the corrupt DMK government,” he added.
He also questioned why DMK MPs did not raise the issue of demarcation in Parliament. “DMK is not interested in raising this issue in Parliament and just wants to promote the false narrative of the elections,” he said.
