The government plans to increase Lok Sabha seats to 816 and Assembly seats to 6,186 to implement the women’s reservation act from 2029. Bills for delimitation and constitutional amendments have been tabled, according to sources.
With the government intending to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 as part of its push to implement the women’s reservation Act from 2029 general elections, sources said that there will be subsequent expansion of assembly seats if the three bills are passed in Parliament and their number would go up from 4,123 to 6,186.
If the bills are passed, the assembly polls after the 2029 Lok Sabha polls will be held according to an expanded number of seats and a delimitation exercise, sources said.
New Bills Tabled for Delimitation, Constitutional Amendments
Delimitation Bill, 2026, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 were tabled in Lok Sabha earlier in the day. The proposed amendment bill includes changes to seven constitutional provisions, namely Articles 55, 81, 82, 170, 332, and 334(A).
State-Level Expansion and Reservation Details
At the state level, Assembly constituencies will also be redrawn based on the 2011 Census. The total number of Assembly seats is expected to increase by 50 per cent, sources told ANI. Additionally, the proposal includes vertical reservation for SC/ST women, along with a “quota within quota” mechanism to ensure more targeted representation.
Amit Shah Assures No Loss for Southern States
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Delimitation Bill, 2026, will not harm the southern states but will, in fact, benefit them. He stated that under the 50% increase model, the current 543 seats in the Lok Sabha will rise to 816, leading to an increase in the number of seats for all southern states.
Union Home Minister added that the existing 129 seats of the southern states in the Lok Sabha will increase to 195, and their share in the total seats of the House will remain almost the same at around 24 per cent.
Karnataka’s Seat Share to Remain Stable
Amit Shah said that in the present House of 543 members, Karnataka currently has 28 members, which is about 5.15 per cent of the total. After the passage of the proposed bills and the constitutional amendment, the number of seats for Karnataka will increase from 28 to 42. In that case, in a Lok Sabha of 816 members, Karnataka’s representation will remain around 5.14 per cent, therefore, Karnataka will not suffer any loss. (ANI)
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