Women’s Reservation Bill, Lok Sabha Expansion Proposal Defeated in Lower House, Rejected

VoM News Desk | April 17, 2026 | 10:43 PM IST | Breaking News, India, Politics | Follow on Google News

Women’s Reservation Bill, Lok Sabha Expansion Proposal Defeated in Lower House, Rejected

NEW DELHI, APR 17 (VoM News): A Constitution Amendment Bill aimed at implementing women’s reservation in legislatures by 2029, along with expanding the strength of the Lok Sabha, was defeated in the Lower House after failing to secure the required two-thirds majority.

The Bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against out of 528 members present and voting, falling short of the 352 votes needed for passage of a constitutional amendment.

The proposed legislation sought to increase the Lok Sabha’s strength from 543 to a maximum of 850 seats. The expansion was intended to facilitate the implementation of 33% reservation for women in Parliament ahead of the 2029 general elections, following a fresh delimitation exercise based on the Census of India 2011.

In addition, the Bill proposed a similar increase in the number of seats in State Assemblies and Union Territory legislatures to ensure proportional reservation for women across all legislative bodies.

The defeat of the Bill highlights the difficulty in building the broad political consensus required for constitutional amendments, effectively delaying the timeline for implementing women’s reservation in elected bodies across the country.

VoM News Desk

VoM News is an online web portal in jammu Kashmir offers regional, National & global news.