Listen to this article:

New Delhi: The Union government’s draft legislation to immediately redraw parliamentary constituencies and expand the Lok Sabha to a maximum of 850 seats has stirred a debate about its possible implications.

With the budget session of parliament reconvening on April 16, 2026, the Union government  has circulated the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, along with the accompanying Delimitation Bill, 2026. The legislative package proposes a fundamental restructuring of India’s parliamentary map, alarming states that have stabilised their populations over past decades.

The draft legislation and mechanisms

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill sets a new maximum cap, stating that the Lok Sabha shall consist of not more than 815 members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the states, and up to 35 members from the Union territories. The draft is explicitly silent on the exact state-wise allocation of these seats.

Crucially, the 131st Amendment deletes the constitutional proviso under Article 82 that mandated the next delimitation exercise wait for the first Census conducted after the year 2026. Uncoupling delimitation from the post-2026 Census timeline permits the government to redraw boundaries immediately using the latest available data. Furthermore, the Bill clears the legal hurdle to immediately implement the 33% women’s reservation mandated by the 106th Amendment Act (2023) in the next election cycle.

The proposals seek to change the seat distribution. The Objects and Reasons of the Constitutional Amendment Bill state: “While the freeze of seats on the basis of population figures of the 1971 Census served an important policy purpose, the country’s demographic profile has since undergone substantial changes, as reflected in the population figures of the latest published census, including significant inter-state and intra-state population shifts.”

To determine the actual distribution, the Delimitation Bill, 2026, mandates the creation of a Delimitation Commission. The Bill mandates that it shall be the duty of the commission to readjust the allocation of seats based on the “latest census figures.”

According to the draft, the........

© The Wire