The Union Government has proposed The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill 2026.
Key highlights of the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill
- Increases the strength of the Lok Sabha: From the existing 543 members to 850 members (815 from states and 35 from UTs).
- Amend Article 82: Bill proposes to delete third proviso to Article 82 which mandates that the next delimitation exercise shall be undertaken on the basis of the first Census conducted after the year 2026.
- This will enable delimitation to be carried out using Census data available prior to the 2026–27 Census.
- Amend Article 334A: Allow implementation of one-third women's reservation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies immediately after delimitation.
Key Highlights of Delimitation Bill 2026
- It will repeal and replace the Delimitation Act, 2002.
- Delimitation Commission (DC): Union Government to constitute DC which will be chaired by a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court.
- Function: DC will readjust the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies and redraw constituencies on the basis of the latest census figures.
- Orders: Orders issued by DC, once published in the Gazette of India, will have the force of law and cannot be called into question in any court.
