The Lok Sabha has taken up three bills, namely the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 for consideration and passing. The three legislations are intended to increase the participation of women in the Lok Sabha and the assemblies of States and Union Territories.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, popularly known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, provided for the reservation of nearly one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies. The objective of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was to ensure greater participation of women in the democratic polity. These three bills have been brought to facilitate the delimitation of territorial constituencies and operationalise the provisions providing for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which has been introduced by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Lower House today, is intended to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850. Out of 850 seats, 815 members will be elected from the States and 35 members from the Union territories. The objective of the bill is to implement one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha as well as the assemblies of States and Union Territories.
Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam which was passed in 2023 provided that one-third reservation for women will come into effect after the delimitation exercise based on the first census after the commencement of the Act. The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill 2026 states that the next census and the consequential delimitation exercise will take considerable time, thus restricting effective and dedicated participation of women in the democratic polity. The objective of the bill is to operationalise one-third reservation for women through delimitation exercise based on the latest published census.
The Delimitation Bill 2026 introduced by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Lok Sabha today. It provides for the constitution of the Delimitation Commission to undertake the exercise of delimitation, facilitating the reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies. The Delimitation Commission is empowered with the task of carrying out delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies and to allocate seats to be reserved for women, including women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill 2026 in the Lok Sabha today. The bill seeks to amend the Government of Union Territories Act 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The legislation provides for the readjustment of parliamentary and assembly constituencies by the Delimitation Commission.
