India Introduces Bills for Women's Reservation and Delimitation

New Delhi, India – Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced three key bills in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, aiming to implement a one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies by the 2029 elections, alongside a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 census.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam passed in 2023, which had reserved one-third of seats for women but remained unimplemented due to ties to future census and delimitation processes. Accompanying it are the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah. These measures propose increasing the Lok Sabha's strength from 543 to a maximum of 850 seats, with 283 reserved for women, while ensuring proportional increases in state assemblies and union territory legislatures. Reserved seats would rotate across constituencies to promote broader representation.

Meghwal emphasized the bills' role in fulfilling long-standing commitments to women's political participation, stating during the session, "This discussion is being held to ensure that women receive appropriate participation;...