A Constitution Amendment Bill proposing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, and an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha was defeated in the Lower House on Friday.
The Bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against. Out of the 528 members who participated in the voting, it fell short of the required 352 votes needed to secure a two-thirds majority.
Here's how political leaders reacted to the failure of the Bill.
'Tamil Nadu defeats Delhi; TN fought, TN won.' - MK Stalin
Chief Minister M K Stalin posted a portrait of him setting fire to the bill on social media. He said the south stood united and made its voice heard and democracy prevailed. "Tamil Nadu defeats Delhi; TN fought, TN won."
DMK leaders distributed sweets and burst firecrackers to celebrate the defeat of the bill in Parliament.
Stalin said: "On April 23 (when TN will vote for the Assembly election), we will defeat Delhi's arrogance, together with slaves who support that arrogance." Furthermore, the chief minister said that delimitation was about representation, about who gets a voice in India's democracy.
"It must strengthen the union, not weaken its balance," he said in a statement.
'Cunning ploy was sniffed out by a united opposition': Kharge
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said a united opposition has defeated the BJP-led government's "nefarious attempt" to carry out delimitation by using half of India's population as a shield to harm the country's democracy.
"Their cunning ploy was sniffed out by a united opposition -- INDIA -- and the Constitution amendment bill was defeated. We express heartfelt thanks to all the leaders of the opposition parties," the Congress president said.
'Nefarious ploy of Modi government': MA Baby
The Centre's attempt to push delimitation of constituencies under the guise of implementing women's reservation was defeated by a united Opposition, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby said.
In a post on X, Baby accused the Narendra Modi-led government of pursuing a "nefarious ploy" to alter the balance of political representation in the country.
"The nefarious ploy of the Modi government and the Sangh Parivar to execute the delimitation of constituencies under the guise of implementing women's reservation has been defeated in the face of opposition unity," he said.
Baby alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party's "ulterior motives" stood exposed.
Congress-led opposition has proven themselves to be "anti-women": Himanta
While Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted that the Congress-led opposition has proven themselves to be "anti-women", after a Constitution amendment bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 was defeated on Friday.
"17 April will always be remembered as a Black Day," Sarma said in a post on X.
"The Opposition led by Congress has proven that they are ANTI WOMEN. Shame," the CM added.
Exposed the true and cruel face of the Opposition: Eknath Shinde
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called the defeat of the women's quota bill in Parliament as unfortunate and has exposed the true and cruel face of the Opposition.
In a post on X, Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, said his party strongly condemns the "anti-woman" stand of the Congress and the INDI bloc parties.
"The defeat of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Lok Sabha is unfortunate," Shinde said.
'Deeply disheartened': Prem Singh Tamang
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said he was "deeply disheartened" over the defeat of the Constitution amendment bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures by 2029.
"I am deeply disheartened that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam could not be passed in the Lok Sabha despite the hopes and aspirations of millions of women across our country," Tamang said in a social media post.
'Entire nation witnessed opposition's hypocrisy': Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused the opposition of "hypocrisy" over the defeat of the women's reservation bill, stating that it failed to support women's empowerment when given a "historic opportunity".
In a post on X, Fadnavis said that the entire country witnessed the opposition's stand. For these parties, women's empowerment exists "only in speeches and slogans", he added.
"They chose politics over progress. Their resistance to the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill has exposed exactly whose interests they truly serve," he said.
Women across the country were taking note of the opposition's stand and "will not forget this", Fadnavis further said.
Exposed BJP's 'discomfort': Abhishek Banerjee
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee asserted that the fallout from the defeat of the delimitation bill in the Lok Sabha has exposed the BJP's "discomfort" in full public view.
Banerjee, considered number two in the TMC hierarchy, on Friday said that the NDA government must immediately act to implement women's reservation.
'Anti-women mindset'- Maithili Thakur
Bihar BJP MLA Maithili Thakur on Friday accused the opposition of possessing an "anti-women mindset" after the Constitution amendment bill brought by the government to tweak women's quota law was defeated in Lok Sabha.
"The voting on the bill in the Lok Sabha has fully exposed the opposition's anti-women mindset.
It is now evident that for the opposition, women's empowerment is merely a political slogan rather than a genuine commitment," Thakur said.
She described the opposition's stand as a "direct and blatant attack" on the rights of women.
"It is extremely unfortunate that those who speak about women's dignity on public platforms stand against their rights in Parliament," the BJP MLA said.
'Truth has prevailed' - Opposition BJD
Opposition BJD in Odisha said that "truth has prevailed" after the Constitution amendment bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to over 800 seats was defeated.
Denied India a historic step towards women's empowerment: Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said the Congress party blocking the Women's Reservation Bill had denied India a 'historic step towards women's empowerment'.
"By blocking the Women's Reservation Bill, the Congress-led opposition has denied India a historic step toward women's empowerment," said Naidu in a social media post on Friday.
'Justice is rendered neither to the south nor the women!':Jagan Mohan Reddy
YSRCP supremo YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said the women's reservation bill losing out in the Lok Sabha ended up rendering justice neither to South India nor women.
"Opposing parties should seriously question themselves; what have they achieved. Justice is rendered neither to the south nor the women!" the former Andhra CM said on Friday in a post on X.
While the reality is that the number of Lok Sabha seats would come down for South India in the Parliament (through delimitation), he decried that the "women's reservation bill has been postponed." "If the 2026 census were to come, the situation would be worse off for the south, further penalised for bringing (sic) discipline in the matters of family planning," he added.
'BJP's evil plan under the garb of women's reservation did not pass': YS Sharmila
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president YS Sharmila asserted that the "illegitimate law" (delimitation) cunningly laced under the garb of women's reservation in legislative bodies has "collapsed".
"BJP's evil plan under the garb of women's reservation did not pass. The conspiracy to use women as the pretext to legitimise illegal laws could not stand," Sharmila said in a Congress press release.
She alleged that the saffron party's 'tricks' under the 'empowerment mask' have fizzled.
Red-letter day in Indian history: Revanth Reddy
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said, “Today will be remembered forever as a red-letter day in Indian history, when under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and Mallikarjun Kharge, all democratic forces and Opposition leaders united in averting a national disaster.”
“I thank leaders of various allied parties who united and stood steadfast under fire to defeat these ‘black bills’, including MK Stalin, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Hemant Soren, Farooq Abdullah, Naveen Patnaik, Arvind Kejriwal, and the leaders of the Communist parties, among others,” he posted on X.