“No state will lose Lok Sabha share”: Narendra Modi defends delimitation, women’s reservation push
“There will be no change in this rate… the increase will also be at the same rate,” he said, in a bid to address the concerns of the southern and eastern states, who fear that the north will have an overwhelming influence on parliament and decide who will rule India by the weight of their numbers.
The opposition said that there was no specific mention in the text of the law that the verbal promise of representation would remain unchanged.
But by framing this as a matter of intent rather than semantics, Modi signaled flexibility even in the language and said he would call it a “guarantee” or “promise” as needed, reinforcing a key message: Reform will not come at the expense of federal balance.
He rejected accusations of political gain, arguing that opposition would naturally benefit him electorally, while compromise would neutralize partisan advantage. He offered “blank check” credit to his opponents, even publicly suggesting he would accept them, positioning the legislation as a collective national step rather than a party victory. “We don’t want a loan,” he said.
Intervening in the debate on three bills on women’s reservations and restrictions, the prime minister took a hard line on equality and accountability. He asserted that no region, north or south, large or small, would be discriminated against in the delimitation process due to the introduction of the women’s quota. Taking the debate beyond parliamentary arithmetic, she framed women’s reservation as a right, not a privilege, and issued a political warning: Those who obstruct it risk prosecution of India’s women, not the treasury benches.
census study
Delimitation is the rearrangement of electoral district boundaries and must be carried out after every ten-year census in accordance with Article 82 of the constitution in order to ensure representation. But given the sensitive nature of the issue, the seats were frozen as per the 1971 census – by the 42nd amendment in 1976 and the 84th amendment in 2001 – until the first census after 2026. India is currently conducting its first census since 2011.
However, the government wants to conduct the delimitation exercise based on this latest census and combine it with the 33% representation of women. The emergency session is being held ahead of voting in key state elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
The Prime Minister said the government was not seeking political credit for implementing the women’s quota law, which is dependent on the next round of delimitation.
Dealing a harsh blow to the opposition, especially the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, whose members marked their protests with black clothes, Modi said, “Thank you for coming in black clothes to protect this work from the evil eye.”
Emphasizing that reservation for women is a right, not a concession, he cautioned against politicizing the reform and said past resistance to such measures had carried consequences.
He warned that any attempt to prevent this would be considered by women across the country.
Wide support sought
Calling for broad support, Modi said the decision should be considered in the national interest and global attention should be on India’s legislative choices. “Women will not only see the decision, but they will also judge our intentions,” she said.
Referring to earlier discussions, he noted that although there were calls to expedite the reservation law for women, the process required time. With the 2029 general election as the target, he said it would be difficult to justify any further delay.
The Lok Sabha is considering the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, which aims to ensure implementation of 33% reservation for women in an expanded Parliament from 543 seats to 850 seats.
According to the provisions of the Delimitation Draft, the implementation will be carried out by the Delimitation Commission appointed by the central government. The commission’s decisions cannot be challenged in any court, a provision challenged by the opposition. The Delimitation Commission will be chaired by a sitting or former Supreme Court judge and its members will include the chief election commissioner (CEC) or an election commissioner nominated by the CEC, other than the state election commissioner of the state concerned.
According to the opposition, the move comes at a time of the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) carried out by the Election Commission of India, in which millions of people lost the right to vote.
