The Centre has decided to defer its plan to introduce amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act during the ongoing Budget Session, following pressure from opposition parties demanding wider consultation on the proposed changes.
The Women’s Reservation Act, passed in 2023, mandates a 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. However, its implementation has been delayed due to its linkage with a future delimitation exercise. The proposed amendments were intended to remove this dependency and fast-track the rollout of reservations.
According to sources, the decision to put the proposal on hold was communicated during a meeting of the Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee. The government is now considering either convening a special session of Parliament or taking up the amendments during the Monsoon Session instead.
This shift comes after sustained pressure from the INDIA bloc, which called for an all-party meeting to discuss the details of the amendments. Several opposition parties, including Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, Left parties, and RJD, jointly urged the government to share a detailed proposal before moving forward. Mallikarjun Kharge emphasised that broader consultation was necessary to make any discussion meaningful.
The proposed framework reportedly includes significant structural changes. One of the key ideas under consideration is increasing the total number of Lok Sabha seats by 50 percent, from 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women. The plan also suggests fixing reserved constituencies for three consecutive terms before introducing rotation, along with maintaining a 33 percent quota for women within Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe reserved seats.
To avoid further delays, the government is considering using the 2011 Census as the basis for seat allocation instead of waiting for a new census. This approach is aimed at ensuring that the reservation can be implemented before the 2029 general elections.
The urgency behind the amendments stems from concerns that linking implementation to future census and delimitation processes could push the timeline well beyond the next election cycle. By delinking the two, the government hopes to accelerate the rollout of the reservation policy.
However, the proposal carries political and constitutional challenges. As an amendment, it requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament, making opposition support essential. While informal discussions have taken place, consensus remains uncertain. Additionally, demands for including reservations for Other Backward Classes within the women’s quota have emerged as a potential point of contention.
There are also concerns about regional balance. Expanding the total number of seats could increase representation from more populous northern states, potentially reigniting debates over equitable distribution between northern and southern regions.
With the proposal now deferred, the focus shifts to further negotiations and consultations. The delay reflects both the complexity of the reform and the political sensitivities involved in implementing one of the most significant changes to India’s electoral framework.
