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Lok Sabha Set to Vote on Key Women's Reservation and Delimitation Bills

The Lok Sabha is set to discuss and vote on the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill. The bills were introduced after a marathon session where they secured a majority of 251 AYES. Opposition leaders have raised strong concerns, alleging the bills will disproportionately impact Southern states and reduce opposition influence. Union Ministers have sought to allay these fears, stating the relative proportion of seats for Southern states will also increase.

Key Points: Parliament Session: Women's Quota & Delimitation Bills for Passage

  • Women's Reservation Bill up for passage
  • Delimitation Bill to redraw constituencies
  • Opposition raises concerns over Southern states' representation
  • Bills introduced after marathon 12-hour session
3 min read

Parliament special session Day 2: Lok Sabha to consider Delimitation Bill, Amendments to Women Reservation Bill for passing

Lok Sabha to vote on Women's Reservation Bill amendments and Delimitation Bill. Follow live updates on the parliamentary session and political debate.

"if these bills become law, the opposition's voice will be reduced to nothing in this House. - Asaduddin Owaisi"

New Delhi, April 17

Lok Sabha on Friday is set to continue discussion and vote on the passage of the Constitution Bill, 2026, which provides 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and State Assemblies, along with the Union Territories Laws bill, 2026 extending it to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which is set to increase and redraw Lok Sabha constituencies, increasing them to 850.

According to the list of Business for Lok Sabha, The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026; The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and The Delimitation Bill, 2026 will be taken up for discussion together.

Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are also likely to move that the amendments to the Women's reservation bill, and the Delimitation Bill be passed.

Earlier on Thursday, Lok Sabha held a marathon 12-hour session to discuss the amendments to the women's reservation bill, which removes the need to implement the bill only after the census is conducted. As per the final division, there were a total of 251 AYES and 185 NOES out of the total 333 votes. With the 251 AYES majority, all three Bills, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, were introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Multiple leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, discussed the bill. Multiple Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress leader KC Venugopal also participated in the discussion.

Congress has called upon the government to withdraw the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 in its current form and convene an all-party meeting to build consensus on it.

Speaking in Lok Sabha on the bill, Venugopal said the government intends to push delimitation in the garb of the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill.

Meanwhile Owaisi had alleged that "if these bills become law, the opposition's voice will be reduced to nothing in this House."

It also been alleged by multiple DMK, Congress MPs that Southern states will be disproportionately impacted if the bill is passed in its current form. Multiple leaders such as Manickam Tagore, A Raja have said that the southern states such as Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala will not have a proportional increase as compared to Northern states.

Union Minister Amit Shah has in turn sought to allay apprehensions of opposition members about the Southern states losing their influence as a result of increase in seats. Shah has said that there will be about 50 per cent increase in their seats, the relative proportion in total seats will also move up.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rahul R
While I support women's reservation, the timing with delimitation is suspicious. Venugopal ji has a point. Why bundle these together? Southern states have genuine concerns about representation being diluted.
A
Amit G
Amit Shah ji has given clear assurances. The increase to 850 seats is necessary to reflect our growing population. Southern states will also see their seat count go up. We need to trust the process for a stronger Lok Sabha.
S
Shreya B
As a young voter from Tamil Nadu, I'm worried. Our state has controlled population growth effectively. Why should we be penalized with less relative power? The bill needs a relook to ensure fair play for all regions.
K
Karthik V
Good to see the session running long hours. Parliament should work like this more often. Passing these bills will be a big reform. Hope the women's quota gets implemented smoothly in all states and UTs, including J&K.
M
Meera T
The opposition's fear about their voice being reduced sounds like political rhetoric. In a democracy, numbers matter, and if they have the people's support, they will get the seats. Focus should be on the merit of the bills.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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