NEW DELHI: With an eye on the upcoming assembly polls, the Centre may convene a special session of Parliament from April 16-18 to bring a bill to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 so that 273 of them could be reserved for women in Lok Sabha, sources said.
While the Budget Session is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, the government may prorogue it and convene a ‘special session’ ahead of the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu on April 23, and West Bengal polls on April 23 and 29.
“The House will not be adjourned sine die but will be adjourned with the announcement that it will meet again on a specific date. We will meet again this month,” said a source, indicating the third week of April.
The government recently proposed an early delimitation exercise to fast-track the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act. The proposed changes include linking the Act’s implementation based on the 2011 Census for a quicker rollout and potentially increasing the number of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats by 50% on a proportional basis.
Though Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions with some NDA allies and some non-Congress opposition floor leaders last week, consultations with the Congress and TMC were yet to take place.
The Opposition has demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the roadmap. The Congress also opposed the proposal to raise the size of the Lok Sabha by 50% saying such a move would “disadvantage” smaller states in the South, Northeast, and West.
The provision to provide 33% reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023, but it will come into effect after the completion of the delimitation exercise.
According to the broad contours available, the number of Lok Sabha seats would be increased from the present 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women. The reservation will also be done on a “vertical basis” with seats allocated for SCs and STs. The redrawing of the constituencies will be done on the basis of the 2011 census rather than the proposed 2027 census.
A similar exercise will be carried out for state assemblies where seats will be reserved on a pro-rata basis.
While a Constitution amendment bill will tweak the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as women’s reservation law, another ordinary bill will amend the Delimitation Act.
Once approved by Parliament, the proposed laws will come into force on March 31, 2029 and will help reserve seats for women in the next Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections in Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh.
The proposal
Budget session supposed to end on Thursday
But session unlikely to be adjourned sine die
Govt planning to summon it again for 2-3 days in April 3rd week
Plan to raise LS seats to 816, with 273 reserved for women
Constitutional amendment bill to amend Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam to be brought
Another bill to tweak Delimitation Act
Redrawing of constituencies to be based on 2011 census