Women’s Quota Bill fails in Lok Sabha after falling short of two-thirds majority
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The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed at providing 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, failed to pass in the Lok Sabha after the Centre fell short of the required two-thirds majority on Friday.
The bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against, missing the threshold needed for constitutional amendments.
Following the setback, the government did not put two related bills to vote, including one on delimitation and increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats, stating they were “intrinsically linked” to the women’s reservation legislation.
The debate, which stretched past midnight on Thursday and continued into Friday, saw strong arguments from both sides. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged members to support the bill, saying it should be seen in the national interest rather than through a political lens. He also assured that southern states would not face injustice in any future increase in parliamentary seats.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah echoed the assurance, stating that representation of southern states would be preserved or could even see a marginal increase if the Lok Sabha expands from 543 to around 816 seats.
The Opposition, however, opposed linking the bill to delimitation. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government was using women’s reservation as a cover to redraw the electoral map. He also claimed the move sidestepped demands for a caste census and could impact the representation of Other Backward Classes.
After the bill failed, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed regret, saying the Opposition had missed an opportunity to support a measure aimed at increasing women’s representation.
Rahul Gandhi described the outcome as a victory, reiterating that the proposal was an attack on the Constitution. He said the Opposition would support the implementation of the earlier women’s reservation law passed in 2023 without linking it to delimitation.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi also opposed the linkage, saying it was not acceptable to tie women’s reservation to delimitation based on outdated census data that does not include OBCs.