The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026:
The Union Government has proposed The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to increase the Lok Sabha’s strength from 543 to 850 members.
- It is a landmark legislative proposal designed to overhaul the composition of the Indian Parliament and the process of redrawing electoral boundaries.
- It specifically targets Articles 81, 82, and 334A of the Constitution to address long-standing demographic shifts and gender representation gaps.
- Aim:
- To expand the Lok Sabha to reflect India’s significant population growth since the 1971 Census.
- To enable immediate implementation of 1/3rd reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies by decoupling it from the requirement of a post-2026 Census.
- To provide a modern legal framework for the Delimitation Commission to readjust seats based on the latest available demographic data.
- Proposed Key Features:
- Increase in House Strength: Proposes that the Lok Sabha consist of not more than 815 members from States and 35 members from Union Territories, totaling 850 members.
- Amendment to Article 82: Seeks to delete the third proviso that mandates delimitation only after the first Census conducted after 2026. This allows the government to use pre-2026 Census data to redraw constituencies immediately.
- Expedited Women’s Reservation: Amends Article 334A to allow the 1/3rd reservation for women to take effect immediately after delimitation, bypassing the delay originally stipulated in the 106th Amendment Act of 2023.
