New Delhi, April 17 (NationPress) The Lok Sabha faced a significant setback on Friday as the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was dramatically defeated, which aimed to increase the number of seats in the house and establish a one-third reservation for women in legislatures starting in 2029.

Despite two days of intense discussion, the Bill garnered 298 votes in favor and 230 against, but ultimately failed to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary for constitutional amendments.

The proposed legislation was ambitious, seeking to boost the Lok Sabha's strength from 543 to 850 seats, a plan linked to a long-overdue delimitation process that would alter electoral boundaries based on shifts in population.

Additionally, it aimed to put into action the 33 percent quota for women within both the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, a reform that had been promised but postponed until after the next delimitation.

The government contended that the expansion and redistribution of seats were essential to address the growing imbalance between voters and their representatives, an issue that has intensified since the last delimitation, which froze boundaries according to the 1971 Census.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah both advocated for the Bill, cautioning that women throughout the nation were closely monitoring the opposition's position. Shah accused the Congress party of historically obstructing delimitation and asserted that they were once again denying citizens fair representation. He emphasized that linking women’s reservation to delimitation was the sole method to guarantee equity in representation.

Conversely, opposition factions argued that the government was leveraging the promise of women’s empowerment as a guise for a political strategy that would favor northern states with higher population growth, at the expense of southern states that have stabilized their demographics.

The Bill's defeat also meant that two additional related proposals—the Delimitation Bill and the amendment to extend the women’s quota to Union Territories—would not proceed.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju confirmed that the government would not advance these measures following the setback.

For numerous observers, the rejection highlighted the profound political divides regarding how India should balance representation across regions while promoting gender equality in governance. The outcome leaves the future of women’s reservation in a state of uncertainty. Although the constitutional framework for the quota was established in 2023, its actualization was contingent upon delimitation, and with this defeat, the timeline is now more ambiguous.

This event underscores the challenges of reaching consensus on reforms that intersect with both the structure of representation and the pursuit of gender justice. For the Modi administration, this loss marks a rare legislative reversal, while for the opposition, it signifies a victory in resisting what they perceive as a politically charged initiative. Nevertheless, for women aspiring to serve in legislatures, the wait for guaranteed representation continues, placing one of the most critical reforms of recent years on hold.