INDIA Bloc To Oppose Women’s Quota Bill Over Delimitation: Does Govt Have Numbers To Get It Cleared?

Last Updated:April 15, 2026, 6:57 PM IST

A special three-day sitting of Parliament will be held from April 16-18 to make amendments for implementation of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’

Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge (left). (PTI File)

Opposing the delimitation, the Opposition’s INDIA bloc has decided to vote against the women’s reservation bill linked to it, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday, the eve of the special three-day session to push for implementation of the legislation.

“We all are in favour of the Women’s Reservation Bill. But the way in which they have brought it, we have reservations about that. It is politically motivated,” Kharge said, adding that the move was aimed at “suppressing the Opposition parties”.

The special three-day sitting of Parliament will be held from April 16 to 18, during which amendments to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, mandating 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, will be brought for implementation in 2029.

The government on Tuesday circulated bills related to the women’s quota law and delimitation among the MPs. The Congress has alleged that when the intent behind a bill is “mischievous” and its content “devious”, the extent of damage to parliamentary democracy is “enormous”.

Women’s reservation: The draft bill and delimitation

According to the draft bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to up to 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law in 2029, after a delimitation exercise to be carried out based on the 2011 Census.

Seats would also be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.

The government proposes to delink the reservation from the requirement of a fresh Census and subsequent delimitation. A central part of the plan is to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to up to 850. The government plans to introduce a Delimitation Bill, 2026, to redraw constituency boundaries based on 2011 Census data instead of waiting for new population figures.

What Congress said on Wednesday

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the parties have “reservations” about the manner in which the bill was introduced. “They are playing some tricks over delimitation. All parties should unite and fight in Parliament. We will oppose this bill, but we are not against reservation (for women),” he said.

“Though we have supported the Women’s Reservation Bill consistently, we insist that the earlier amendments be implemented,” Kharge said, adding that the parties have long-standing concerns over the delimitation exercise.

“All opposition parties want that one-third reservation be given to women, and it be implemented based on the current Lok Sabha strength of 543,” said Congress’s Jairam Ramesh.

“Women’s reservation be implemented only from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. All opposition parties are completely against the provisions of delimitation. We will participate in the debate in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and oppose it,” he added.

Can the bill clear the Parliamentary hurdle? Does the NDA govt have the numbers?

Under Article 368, the amendment requires a majority of the total membership of the House and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.

To pass a constitutional amendment, the government needs a special majority—two-thirds of those present and voting, plus at least 50% of the total house strength.

Lok Sabha

NDA strength: 293

INDIA bloc strength: 230-240

2/3rd majority mark: 364 (if all 543 vote)

Gap for NDA: 71st

Rajya Sabha

NDA strength: 141

INDIA bloc strength: 58–62

2/3rd majority mark: 164 (of 245 members)

Gap for NDA: 23

In the Lok Sabha, the NDA strength includes 240 seats from the BJP, followed by allies such as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with 16 seats and JD(U) with 12. The INDIA bloc is led by the Congress with 100 seats and the Samajwadi Party (SP) with 37.

In Rajya Sabha Shift, the NDA’s strength rose from 135 to 141 in March after winning 22 of the 37 contested seats. This victory was bolstered by cross-voting in states like Bihar and Odisha.

While the government can pass ordinary bills, it is roughly 70 seats short in the Lok Sabha and 23 seats short in the Rajya Sabha of the two-thirds majority (approx. 364 in LS and 164 in RS) needed for the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026.

The INDIA bloc, led by the four largest opposition parties—Congress (98), Samajwadi Party (37), TMC (28), and DMK (22) — accounts for roughly 185 MPs in the Lok Sabha. If they vote together, they can easily prevent the government from reaching the 364-mark.

The government could still pass the bills if opposition members abstain or walk out, which would lower the total number of members “present and voting,” thereby reducing the absolute number of votes needed for a two-thirds majority.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached out to all floor leaders for the special session to find a middle ground

Opposition leaders’ meet

Top opposition leaders on Wednesday met at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss and evolve a joint strategy on the women’s quota law. Several opposition parties are opposed to the linking of the women’s reservation law with a delimitation exercise and an increase in seats in several state Assemblies as per the 2011 Census, and have accused the ruling NDA of indulging in politics over the law. Leaders of the Congress, DMK, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD, CPI and CPI-M were present at the meeting at Kharge’s residence.

Besides Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the other leaders at the meeting included DMK’s T R Baalu, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Trinamool’s Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant, and NCP-SCP’s Spriya Sule, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joining virtually.

CPI leader Annie Raja, CPI-M’s Nilotpal Basu, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Independent MP Kapil Sibal, IUML’s E T Mohammed Bashir and RSP’s N K Premchandran also attended the meeting, other than Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh.

Kharge had earlier convened a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary strategy group at his residence, where top party leaders discussed women’s reservation and the delimitation exercise.

What are their concerns?

While the INDIA bloc largely supports the 33% quota, they are critical of several proposed changes in the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026. Opposition leaders, particularly from southern states like Tamil Nadu (Chief Minister MK Stalin), argue that a population-based delimitation exercise will unfairly reduce the political representation of states that successfully implemented family planning.

The government proposes increasing the Lok Sabha’s size from 543 to 850 seats. The Opposition flags that this expansion does not appear to be on a pro-rata basis and could disadvantage non-Hindi speaking regions.

Parties such as the BSP (Mayawati) and members of the INDIA bloc continue to demand a separate “quota within a quota” for women from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Critics argue that by tying reservation to delimitation, the government is delaying its actual rollout until at least the 2029 General Elections.

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