Women's Reservation Act, 2023, The Implications

Synopsis

Women Reservation Act was passed in 2023 in Parliament. However, the collapse of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 tells us that it is nowhere near implementation in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections until delimitation is done. UP, Bihar and West Bengal have the maximum number of seats in the Lok Sabha. How will 2026-27 census data affect the allocation of the seats between north and south India?

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Why the Women Reservation Act, 2023, in the News?

There are almost 50% women in the world; however, only 25% are represented in Politics. Similarly, in India, there are almost 48% women; their representation in politics is 14%. In the year 1992, through the 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, in local governing bodies such as Panchayats and Municipalities, 33% seats were reserved for women.

Observing the success of these reservations, it was decided that the Lok Sabha should also have some seats reserved for women. Therefore, through the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, 33% seats were reserved for women in the Lok Sabha for a time period of 15 years. This time period is extendable at Parliament’s discretion.

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Was the Act implemented immediately?

No. There was a qualification attached to this Act: the reservations would only be implemented after a census followed by delimitation.

What is census and delimitation?

Census means ‘jangarna’, which is conducted every 10 years to determine the population of a country. But why is census important? Census not only tells us about population but also how national policies should be made, where hospitals and schools are needed, and where infrastructure needs to be strengthened.

The first census of independent India was conducted in 1951 with a population of 36.1cr, the second in 1961 with 43.9cr population, third in 1971 with 54.8cr population. The seats in the Lok Sabha were 494, 522, and 543, respectively. After the census, delimitation is conducted. It is the redrawing of boundaries of assembly constituencies based on changing population, so that the democratic principle of One Vote, One Value holds its value.

What is the purpose of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026?

In the month of April, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was moved in the Parliament to fastrack women reservation in the Parliament. How did it fast-track? In the parent Act, i.e, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam Act, 2023, there was the qualification of census and delimitation for implementation of the 33% women reservation.

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However, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 suggested not to waste time and, based on 2011 census data, the reservation should be implemented immediately.

The second proposal was to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from the current 543 to 850 so that 33% of seats would be reserved for women without affecting the representation of existing elected MPs. But did the bill pass? Since it was a Constitutional Amendment Bill, it required a 2/3rd Special Majority. The bill could only secure 298 votes instead of 352 and collapsed.

What is the North and South Debate?

Delimitation, in simple terms, means population-wise seats by redrawing the boundaries of constituencies and reallocating seats in the Parliament based on population. The southern states, with better population management, have managed to control their population; however, contrary to this, in the northern states with no such management, the population has rather increased manyfold.

If delimitation is conducted, northern states, because of their larger population, will get more seats. All the policies and budget allocation will be in their favor. Whereas the southern states, despite having followed the regulations, will face an unjust reduction of seats.

Delimitation in the Indian Constitution

Article 81 of the Indian Constitution deals with the composition and structure of the Lok Sabha. There should be population-based representation, which means that based on the population of the state, the seats will be allocated in the Lok Sabha.

The maximum seats are fixed at 550. Similarly, Articles 82 and 170 of the Indian Constitution deal with population-based readjustment in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, respectively. How? By conducting a census every 10 years, followed by delimitation.

During the Emergency of 1976, the country was in crisis. The government blamed overpopulation for this. Therefore, two solutions were introduced: first, the National Population Policy of 1976; the legal marriage age was increased from 15 to 18 for females and 18 to 21 for males; sterilization incentives and family planning were introduced.

However, family planning had a problem. The states that followed the rules would have faced a reduction in their seats, and states that did not follow the rules would get increased seats. So, to avoid this, a second solution was implemented, i.e, to freeze the seats of the Lok Sabha at 543 after the 1971 census, followed by the 1973 delimitation until the 2001 census. Which later got postponed till 2026-27 census.

Future of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026

Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 requires census and delimitation for reservation of seats for women in Parliament. Why can we not skip delimitation, as the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 suggested, to reserve seats for women? Because if no seats are increased (as the seats can only be increased proportionately after delimitation), then the 33% reservation will be implemented on the existing 543 seats.

What will happen to these MPs who were elected for the 33%, i.e., 181 seats? Other problems would arise. Therefore, the bill got rejected; it will only be after the 2027 delimitation that one can expect reservations to be implemented.