BREAKING| Centre Proposes Constitution Amendment To Increase Lok Sabha Seats To 850 & Allow Delimitation Based On Pre-2026 Census

The Union Government has proposed a significant overhaul of the composition of the House of the People through The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from the existing 543 members to 850 members.

The Bill will be taken up in the Special Session of the Parliament to be convened on April 16 and 17.

The Bill also proposes an amendment to Article 82 of the Constitution, which presently governs the process of readjustment of parliamentary constituencies following each Census.

Under the third proviso to Article 82, the Constitution currently mandates that the next delimitation exercise shall be undertaken on the basis of the first Census conducted after the year 2026. The proposed amendment seeks to delete this proviso in its entirety, thereby removing the constitutional requirement that delimitation must automatically follow the post-2026 Census. This would mean that the delimitation can be carried out before the 2026-27 Census.

As per the proposed amendment to Article 81, the House of People will have a maximum of 815 members to be chosen from the States. Also, not more than 35 members are to be chosen from the Union Territories in such manner as the Parliament may by law provide

Also, by removing the link between the delimitation and census, the Bill, if passed, can expedite the implementation of the 1/3rd women's reservation in the next election.

As per the Constitution (106th) Amendment Act, 2023, passed in September 2023, the women's reservation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies will take place after the delimitation, which is carried out after the first Census following the enactment.

The present Bill proposes to amend Article 334A on women's reservation, to allow implementation of 1/3rd women's reservation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies immediately after delimitation.

Along with the Constitution Amendment Bill, the Centre is also moving the Delimitation Bill 2026, to repeal and replace the Delimitation Act, 2002.

 Delimitation Commission To Be Constituted

The Delimitation Bill empowers the Central Government to constitute a Delimitation Commission through notification in the Official Gazette. The Commission will be chaired by a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court, and will include the Chief Election Commissioner (or a nominated Election Commissioner) and the State Election Commissioner of the concerned State as ex officio members.

For each State, the Commission will associate ten members to assist in its work, comprising five Members of Parliament and five Members of the State Legislative Assembly nominated by the respective Speakers. However, these associate members will not have voting rights or authority to sign decisions of the Commission.

Basis Of Readjustment: Latest Census Figures

Under the proposed law, the Commission will readjust the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies and redraw constituencies on the basis of the latest census figures. The Bill states that the existing allocation of seats is based on population figures from the 1971 census, while the present division of territorial constituencies relies on the 2001 census, despite significant demographic changes since then.

The Commission will determine:

1. The number of seats to be allocated to each State and Union Territory in the Lok Sabha
2. The total number of seats in State Legislative Assemblies
3. The number of seats to be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
4. The delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies
5. The Bill also requires constituencies to be geographically compact and to take into account administrative boundaries, communication facilities and public convenience while delimiting constituencies.

A key feature of the Bill is the provision for reservation of as nearly as may be one-third of the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for women, including women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Bill provides that seats reserved for women will be allotted by rotation among different constituencies, and seats reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will rotate within constituencies already reserved for those categories.

The Bill provides that orders issued by the Delimitation Commission, once published in the Gazette of India, will have the force of law and cannot be called into question in any court. However, the representation in the existing House or Assembly will remain unaffected until its dissolution, and bye-elections held before dissolution will continue to be conducted under the existing delimitation framework.