Constitution (131st) Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill
Context:
The Centre introduced the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the companion Delimitation Bill, 2026, in a Special Session of Parliament.
These Bills propose monumental changes to India's representative map by restarting the delimitation process and removing the long-standing constitutional freeze on the readjustment of legislative seats.
Constitutional Amendments:
The Bill amends Articles 81, 82, and 170, deleting provisions that postponed seat readjustments.
The current freeze, enacted through a 2001 consensus froze inter-state Lok Sabha seat distribution based on the 1971 Census and intra-state boundaries on the 2001 Census until the first census after 2026.
The amendment increases the maximum size of the Lok Sabha from the current ceiling of 550 to 850 seats (815 allocated for States and 35 for Union Territories).
It substitutes Article 334A to operationalise a 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.
Crucially, this quota will only come into effect after the fresh delimitation exercise is completed based on the latest published Census (which is currently the 2011 Census).
The Delimitation Commission:
The Delimitation Bill, 2026, explicitly assigns the redrawing task to a statutory Delimitation Commission.
Composition:
It will be chaired by a former or sitting Supreme Court judge and will include the Chief Election Commissioner (or an Election Commissioner nominated by them) and the respective State Election Commissioner.
Impact and Concerns:
By basing the new seat allocation on the 2011 Census, the Bills propose a massive inter-state redistribution.
The Hindi heartland's share of Lok Sabha seats will jump from 38.1% to 43.1%, while the Southern States' share will shrink from 24.3% to 20.7%.
For instance, Uttar Pradesh stands to gain 58 seats, while Kerala will gain only three.
Consequently, several Southern States (like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana) and Punjab had strongly demanded extending the existing freeze for another 25 years, a demand that was overlooked.