• Source:JND
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Despite the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which intended to implement the Women's Reservation Bill, failing to clear the Lok Sabha, the path to securing a 33 per cent quota for women in the 2029 general elections remains open.

According to a report by NDTV, citing top government sources, several options are currently being considered to achieve this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reaffirmed the government's commitment to get the women's reservation implemented in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

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Discussions With Political Parties, Reintroduction Of Bill

To implement the bill in the next Lok Sabha elections, the government may hold discussions with all political parties, and if necessary, it may reintroduce the bill during the monsoon session, sources said.

Census, Delimitation And 2029 Implementation

An alternative pathway for implementing the women's quota lies within the existing legal framework, which stipulates that the reservation will come into effect once the census is completed and Lok Sabha seats are subsequently redetermined through the delimitation process based on that data.

The census enumeration process is currently underway and is expected to be completed by 2027. If a Delimitation Commission is constituted and completes its work immediately thereafter, the 33 per cent reservation could be implemented in the 2029 elections.

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Altering Boundaries Without Increase In Number Of Seats

Another route involves redrawing boundaries of constituencies without increasing the total number of seats, which is currently capped at 550. According to sources cited by NDTV, building a political consensus on this approach may be comparatively easier than the full-scale expansion of the Parliament.

Alternatively, the government could consider amending Article 334A to delink the women's reservation mandate from the condition of delimitation. This move would allow the implementation of a reservation quota on the existing 543 seats. With the current freeze set to expire in 2026, the government will need to re-evaluate these options.


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