Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026

The Union Government introduced two landmark Bills in Lok Sabha:

1. The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026
2. The Delimitation Bill, 2026

Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026- Key Provisions

Delimitation on the Basis of Population

• The Bill restores the original constitutional principle that Lok Sabha seat allocation will be strictly proportional to population — both across states and within states.
• This reverses two earlier freezes: the 1976 Constitution Amendment (which deferred readjustment by 25 years) and the 2001 Constitution Amendment (which froze state seat shares for a further 25 years until the first census after 2026). The Bill removes this freeze entirely.

Parliament to Decide the Census to be Used

• The Bill removes the mandatory requirement to conduct delimitation after every census.
• Instead, Parliament will determine by law which census figures to use — provided those figures have been published.
• The accompanying Delimitation Bill, 2026 clarifies that the 2011 census will be used for the next delimitation.

Increase in Maximum Lok Sabha Seats

• The current constitutional cap of 550 Lok Sabha seats (530 from states + 20 from UTs) is proposed to be raised to 850 seats– with up to 815 from states and up to 35 from Union Territories.

Women’s Reservation- Commencement

• The 106th Constitutional Amendment (2023) had reserved one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women, to take effect after a delimitation exercise based on the first census after 2023.
• The new Bill removes the requirement for delimitation to be linked to the first post-2023 census, thereby potentially accelerating the implementation of women’s reservation.

Delimitation Bill, 2026- Key Provisions

The Delimitation Bill, 2026 will repeal and replace the Delimitation Act, 2002.

• Delimitation Commission (DC): The Union Government will constitute a Delimitation Commission, chaired by a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court.
• Functions: The DC will readjust Lok Sabha and State Assembly seat allocation and redraw constituencies based on the latest published census figures. As per the Bill, the 2011 census will be used for the upcoming delimitation exercise.
• Legal Finality of Orders: Orders issued by the DC, once published in the Gazette of India, will have the force of law and cannot be challenged in any court.