Centre proposes 131st Constitution Amendment Bill to increase Lok Sabha seats to 850

The Union Government has introduced The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposing a significant increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 members, alongside key changes to delimitation rules and women’s reservation provisions. The Bill is scheduled to be taken up during a Special Session of Parliament on April 16 and 17.

The Bill seeks to amend Article 82 of the Constitution, which currently governs the readjustment of parliamentary constituencies after each
census.

At present, the Constitution mandates that delimitation must take place based on the first Census conducted after 2026. The proposed amendment removes this requirement entirely, allowing delimitation to be carried out using data available before the
2026-27 Census.

New structure for Lok Sabha seats

Under the proposed amendment to Article 81, the Lok Sabha will have a maximum of 815 members representing the States and not more than 35 members representing the Union Territories, as determined by Parliament.

Women’s reservation

The Bill also proposes changes that could accelerate the implementation of a one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

According to the Constitution (106th) Amendment Act, 2023, women’s reservation is to be implemented only after delimitation following the first census after the 2023 law.

The current proposal seeks to amend Article 334A to allow the implementation of women’s reservation immediately after delimitation.

New Delimitation Bill introduced

Alongside the constitutional amendment, the Centre has introduced the Delimitation Bill 2026 to replace the Delimitation Act, 2002.

The proposed law empowers the central government to set up a Delimitation Commission through an official notification.

The Commission will be chaired by a current or former Supreme Court judge and will include the Chief Election Commissioner or a nominated Election Commissioner, along with the State Election Commissioner of the concerned state as ex officio members.

Each state will also have ten associate members, including five Members of Parliament and five Members of the State Legislative Assembly nominated by the respective Speakers. These members will assist in the process but will not have voting rights or authority to sign decisions.

Seat allocation to be based on latest census data

The Commission will redraw constituencies and allocate seats based on the latest census figures.

Currently, seat allocation is based on the 1971 census, while the division of constituencies relies on the 2001 census, despite demographic changes since then.

The Commission will determine:

• The number of Lok Sabha seats for each State and Union Territory

• The total seats in State Legislative Assemblies

• Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

• The delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies

• Criteria for drawing constituencies

The Bill states that constituencies must be geographically compact and consider administrative boundaries, communication facilities and public convenience.

Reservation for women and rotation system

The Bill provides for reserving nearly one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women, including those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Reserved seats will be rotated among constituencies, while seats for women from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will rotate within constituencies already reserved for those categories.

Orders issued by the Delimitation Commission, once published in the Gazette of India, will have the force of law and cannot be challenged in court.

However, the existing House or Assembly will continue unchanged until it is dissolved, and any bye-elections held before dissolution will follow the current delimitation framework.