Lok Sabha Strength to Rise to 815 Seats, 272 Seats for Women: Meghwal

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday said the strength of the Lok Sabha will be increased to 815 seats, of which 272 will be reserved for women—amounting to 33% representation.

Introducing three bills in the Lok Sabha to amend the women’s quota framework and establish a delimitation commission, Meghwal explained that the formula is straightforward: 272 out of 815 seats ensures one-third reservation for women.

He emphasized that the proposed changes would expand the current strength of the House by 50%, while ensuring that neither male members nor any state would lose representation as a result of the quota.

The proposal also includes sub-reservation within the women’s quota for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in both the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

Meghwal noted that, under the existing framework of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, implementation of women’s reservation in the 2029 elections would not be feasible, as it depends on updated census data expected only after 2026. The new constitutional amendment aims to address this limitation and enable timely implementation.

He underlined that the primary objective of the legislation is to secure women’s rightful political representation. Drawing a global comparison, Meghwal pointed out that India granted women equal voting rights from its very first general election, unlike countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, where women received suffrage much later.

He urged all political parties to support the bill.

The Lok Sabha also took up for consideration the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Delimitation Bill, 2026. These were introduced following a heated 40-minute debate, after which the opposition demanded a division of votes. The Constitution amendment bill was introduced with 251 members voting in favor and 185 against.

The amendment seeks to operationalize the women’s reservation policy before the 2029 general elections by increasing Lok Sabha seats after a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. A similar expansion is proposed for state and Union Territory assemblies.

According to the draft bill, seats reserved for women will be rotated across constituencies within each state and Union Territory.

Meanwhile, several opposition parties have opposed the delimitation provisions of the bill, while maintaining that they support women’s reservation in principle.