NEW DELHI, Apr 14: The Union government has proposed a significant restructuring of the Lok Sabha, suggesting an increase in the strength of the House from 543 to 850 members.
The move is part of The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which is expected to be taken up during a special parliamentary session scheduled for April 16–17.
815 seats are proposed for states and 35 for Union Territories including Jammu and Kashmir.
The Bill also seeks to amend Article 82, which governs delimitation after each Census.
The proposed change would remove the mandatory requirement that delimitation must follow the first Census after 2026, effectively allowing constituency readjustment based on pre-2026–27 data.
The government has linked the exercise to the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act, which provides 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, set for rollout from the 2029 elections under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023.
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