India talks to Congress on delimitation and women's quota

The Indian government is making a renewed push to pass a major constitutional amendment bill that would redraw parliamentary constituencies and implement a long-pending women's reservation law, engaging in high-level talks with the opposition Congress party to break a legislative deadlock. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, August 5, for nearly 50 minutes to discuss the potential reintroduction of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.

The proposed legislation aims to increase the Lok Sabha's strength from 543 to 816 seats through a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 census and to operationalize a 33 percent reservation for women in legislatures before the 2029 general elections. It would also expand seats in state and union territory assemblies to accommodate the women's quota. This effort follows the bill's defeat in a special session held from April 16 to 18, when it failed to secure the required two-thirds majority, receiving 298 votes in favor against 230 opposed.

During the meeting, which was also attended by Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Gaurav Gogoi, and K.C. Venugopal, Rijiju sought the...