Delimitation, women’s reservation, political dynamics
In September 2023, Parliament passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, or the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which commits to reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas for women, including in constituencies already earmarked for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. However, this potentially transformative measure falls short of immediacy: its implementation is deferred until after the next Census and the subsequent delimitation exercise.
During parliamentary debates, the Congress party, along with several other Opposition parties, demanded its immediate operationalisation, ideally for the 2024 general election. Women’s rights groups criticised the government for tying the quota to delimitation after the new Census, arguing that it creates unnecessary delays. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government rejected this, maintaining that such a major change, without updated Census data and delimitation, would undermine both fairness and feasibility.
The shift now seems more deliberate
Less than three years later, that position appears to have shifted. Recent reports suggest that the government now plans to amend the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 by initiating a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census, rather than waiting for a fresh Census and a subsequent delimitation process tied to it. At the same time, the size of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies may be expanded by nearly 50%, increasing the Lok Sabha’s strength from 543 to 816 seats. In the absence of any formal articulation of the basis for such an expansion, questions arise about its implications for representational balance and political fairness.
Taken together, these developments — particularly the proposed increase in seats — point to a decoupling of women’s reservation from the next Census, expected to include caste enumeration beyond the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and the delimitation exercise that would follow. While this shift is framed as a means of expediting implementation, it also suggests a more deliberate political reconfiguration underlying these far-reaching structural changes.
The timing is telling. Acting at this juncture allows the government to claim credit for a long-pending reform that previous administrations failed to implement, even if it entails departing from the sequencing that it had earlier defended. It has clear electoral implications, likely to mobilise women voters in upcoming Assembly elections across key States/Union Territory, consolidate support ahead of the 2027 contests, and position the Bharatiya Janata Party as the party that delivered on women’s reservations and gender justice. This claim could, in turn, become a chief plank of its campaign for the 2029 general election.
Delimitation, however, remains contentious, questioning whether representation should be based solely on population or also consider economic, social, and demographic factors. A strictly population-based approach would strengthen the parliamentary power of northern States where fertility rates remain relatively high, while reducing the relative influence of southern and peninsular states that have stabilised population growth and significantly drive India’s economy and employment. This dynamic is likely to deepen the existing north–south divide, driven by demographic asymmetries and uneven development outcomes, placing additional strain on the federal compact and the balance of inter=State representation.
These conflicting concerns stem from the constitutional freeze on delimitation, leaving constituency boundaries and seat allocations unchanged since the early 1970s. After nearly five decades, the government now appears set to lift this freeze, proposing a roughly 50% expansion of the Lok Sabha alongside proportional increases in State Assemblies. This approach is intended to reassure southern States by preserving their relative share of seats and thus reducing resistance to delimitation. Yet, even with a uniform expansion, the absolute seat counts of northern States would rise significantly, further tilting the existing balance of power in their favour. For instance, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar together could approach 180 seats, while the five southern States (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) combined may reach around 195, raising the possibility that the northern bloc could still wield disproportionate political weight. In a first-past-the-post system, where numerical strength ultimately determines both electoral victory and seats gained, such an increase risks entrenching structural disadvantages for less populous regions, even if formal proportionality is preserved.
The issue of data
These distributional concerns are compounded by the question of data. Basing women’s reservation on the 2011 Census is problematic, particularly when a new Census is already underway. India in 2026 bears little resemblance to its 2011 demographic profile: migration, rapid urbanisation, and the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly reshaped population patterns over the past decade and a half, altering both urban and rural constituencies. Proceeding with outdated data risks misrepresenting current realities at the very moment when foundational decisions on delimitation, seat expansion, and the operationalisation of women’s reservation are being made. Yet, the urgency to move ahead suggests a calculated political judgement: that the imperative of delivering women’s reservation will outweigh resistance, as few can afford to oppose its expeditious implementation, leaving little room to contest either the process or its sequencing. The issue is further complicated by what the next Census itself may reveal. Widely expected to be a landmark exercise, the availability of caste data could sharpen demands for greater representation of disadvantaged caste groups, particularly given their demographic strength. It may also amplify calls for sub-quotas within women’s reservation, especially from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), including Muslim OBC communities that remain underrepresented. Several political parties and women’s organisations have already voiced such demands. By moving ahead without waiting for the 2026-27 Census, the government appears to be postponing these pressures, but only temporarily.
A further concern is the lack of clarity on how women’s reservation will operate in practice. While the amendment mandates a one-third quota, it defers critical details, especially the rotation of reserved constituencies. This is not a minor issue: rotation determines who can contest, from where, and with what continuity, shaping both accountability and constituency development. Earlier proposals cautioned that frequent rotation could disrupt these goals, yet the current framework leaves the design unresolved. Reports suggest that in smaller States and Union Territories with one or two Lok Sabha seats, the rotation of reserved constituencies may operate differently, resulting in less frequent turnover, while in larger States, some seats could remain reserved across successive terms. However, the law itself provides only for rotation after delimitation, leaving the precise mechanism to be defined.
The need for deliberation
None of this diminishes the core premise: women’s reservation is long overdue and politically imperative. Evidence from other countries suggests that quotas can be effective, and there is little reason to believe that India would be an exception. Taken together, women’s reservation, seat expansion and delimitation are not isolated changes; they will jointly reshape who is represented, from where, and in what proportions. Seen in this context, they mark a foundational reordering of the electoral map — one that will redraw constituencies, recalibrate the weight of States, and reconfigure the social composition of legislative bodies. Far from a marginal or technical adjustment, this is a structural shift that could rebalance political power across regions, social groups, and genders.
Precisely because of the scale of this shift, implementation must be preceded by thorough deliberation grounded in the latest data. Departing from the logical and constitutionally settled sequence risks distorting representation and seat distribution, thereby weakening the very reform it seeks to advance. India stands on the cusp of one of the most significant transformations of its representative system since the early decades of the Republic.
Zoya Hasan is Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Published – April 08, 2026 12:16 am IST
