131st Constitutional Amendment Bill 2026 introduced in Parliament; voting on Friday

The government introduced the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill 2026 in Parliament on Thursday. The proposed legislation seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha -- the lower house of Parliament -- to 850 seats, removing a cap based on a 1971 law. The Bill is set to overhaul the country's electoral structure by enabling immediate delimitation, aligning the strength of the house to with the latest census.

The government has called a special Parliament session from April 16 to 18, during which the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill is expected to be taken up for passage.

The Centre will also introduce the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, during the special sitting.

Voting on all three bills is scheduled to take place in Parliament at 4 PM on Friday.

A key change in the 131 Constitutional Amendment

A significant change that the draft law proposes is to introduce a 33 per cent reservation for women in the house.

This will be achieved using amendments to Articles 81, 82 and 334A in the Constitution.

These articles define thestructure and composition of the Lok Sabha and permissable special reservations. Article 81 sets the upper limit of the composition of the House of the People at 550.

Article 82 defines provisions to readjust constituencies after each census.

Article 334A is set to be a newly-inserted provision -- through the 106th Amendment -- to define the 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha as well as in State Assemblies.

What does the census say?

The implementation of the Bill is linked with a population-based revision of constituencies based on the 2011 census. This is where the concept of delimitation comes from.

Advantage BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Lok Sabha

Sources say that the passage of the bill is likely given the Bharatiya Janata Party's clear majority in the house, with its 298 MPs supporting the Bill. The move could reshape Lok Sabha and state assemblies going forward.

The NDA's support base includes TDP (16 seats), JD(U) (12), Shiv Sena (7), LJP (5) and YSRCP (4).

The opposition is led by 98 MPs of the Congress, followed by SP (37), TMC (28) and DMK (22).

The votes of four MPs, including Independents, remain undecided.

The next general election is due in 2029.

What Opposition says

The INDIA bloc -- led by the Indian National Congress (INC) -- has voiced concerns regarding the amendments, accusing the Centre of attempting to rush the proposed changes under the guise of women's quota.

The bloc has publicly declared its opposition to the Bill, but it remains to be seen whether all listed parties will vote against, abstain or stage a walkout during the final vote.