Govt setback: Women’s reservation bill not passed

• By Thetripurapost Desk, New Delhi
• Apr 17, 2026
• 169

The government failed to secure passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, dealing a major legislative setback. The bill, which proposed increasing the number of seats in Parliament from 543 to 850 and was linked to women’s reservation, fell short of the required two-thirds majority.

After a marathon 21-hour debate, 528 MPs participated in the मतदान. Of these, 298 voted in favour while 230 opposed it. With 352 votes needed for passage, the bill was defeated by a margin of 54 votes.

The government also chose not to put two related bills—the Delimitation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026—to vote. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that since the bills were interconnected, a separate vote was unnecessary.

This marks the first time in 12 years that the government led by Narendra Modi has failed to pass a bill in the Lok Sabha. Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah had warned that the opposition would be responsible if the bill did not pass.

The NDA, with 293 MPs, managed to secure 298 votes—just five more than its own strength—but failed to win broader opposition support.

Despite the setback, the Women’s Reservation law passed in 2023 remains in force and is expected to be implemented from the 2034 Lok Sabha elections. The government may now look at revising the proposal, possibly by addressing concerns over seat distribution and delimitation.

The debate also reignited the North-South divide, with opposition parties arguing that delimitation based on population would disproportionately benefit northern states. The government, however, maintained that all states, including those in the south, would see an increase in representation.

Going forward, the Centre may attempt to build consensus and reintroduce a modified version of the bill after consultations with opposition parties.