The story so far: The Narendra Modi government has revived efforts to secure the numbers needed to pass the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 and pave the way for a fresh delimitation exercise before the 2029 general election. The Bill also provides the constitutional basis for implementing the women’s reservation law.
The legislation had failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha when it was put to vote in April 2026. Since then, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has focused on expanding the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and reaching out to regional parties that had opposed or abstained on the Bill.
Published - July 17, 2026 09:19 am IST