delimitation bill

The Delimitation Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on April 16, 2026 , as part of a legislative package to overhaul India's electoral map and operationalize women’s reservation. [1, 2] Key Features of the 2026 Legislation The government introduced three interconnected bills: the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 , the Delimitation Bill, 2026 , and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 . [1, 3, 4] Expansion of Lok Sabha: Proposes increasing the maximum number of seats in the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850 (815 for states and 35 for Union Territories). Lifting the Seat Freeze: Removes the long-standing freeze that based seat allocation on the 1971 Census . Census Baseline: Allows the next delimitation exercise to be based on the 2011 Census (the latest published data) instead of waiting for the results of the upcoming 2027 digital census. Women's Reservation: Links the delimitation exercise to the immediate implementation of the 33% women's quot...