Why Women's Reservation Bill For 2029 Polls Failed In Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha rejected a Constitution Amendment Bill aimed at implementing women’s reservation by 2029, as it failed to secure the required two-thirds majority. While 298 MPs supported it, 230 opposed it. Opposition criticised the move.

Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha on Friday rejected a key Constitution Amendment Bill that aimed to fast-track the implementation of women’s reservation in elections from 2029. The bill also proposed carrying out delimitation without waiting for a fresh Census.

Out of 528 members who voted, 298 supported the bill while 230 opposed it. However, this was not enough for the bill to pass.

Why the bill failed

A Constitution Amendment Bill needs a special majority to pass. This means it must get support from at least two-thirds of the members present and voting.

In this case, the government needed 352 votes but got only 298. As a result, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the bill had failed.

He said, “The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill did not pass as it did not achieve a 2/3 majority during voting in the House.”

What the bill aimed to do

The proposed amendment was linked to the Women’s Reservation Act, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. It aimed to:

Implement 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies by 2029 Increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 Carry out delimitation based on the last Census

The government said these steps were needed to make the reservation system work before the next general elections.

Opposition’s objections

Several opposition parties opposed the bill. They raised concerns about delimitation without a fresh Census.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the bill was not really about helping women.

He stated, “We have defeated the bill in Lok Sabha. We have always said that the bill was not aimed at uplifting women, but an attempt to change the electoral structure of the country.”

He also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the earlier Women’s Reservation Act, promising support from the opposition.

Government’s response

Union Home Minister Amit Shah defended the bill during a long debate in the House.

He criticised opposition parties for opposing the move and said they may face the anger of women voters in future elections.

After the bill failed, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government would not go ahead with two related bills — the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill.

He later withdrew the bill, and the House was adjourned till the next day.

What happens to other bills

The Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill was part of a larger plan discussed during a special three-day session of Parliament held from April 16 to 18.

The failure of this bill means that the related proposals, including delimitation changes, will not move forward for now.

Rules for Constitution Amendment Bills

The process for passing such bills is strict.

A simple majority is enough to introduce the bill But to pass it, a two-thirds majority of members present and voting is required In some cases, approval from at least half of the state legislatures is also needed

This makes it harder to pass major constitutional changes without broad support.

Why delimitation became a key issue

Delimitation means redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies.

The government wanted to carry out delimitation based on the last available Census data. However, opposition parties argued that a fresh Census should be done first.

They feared that changing seat numbers and boundaries without updated population data could affect fair representation.

What this means going forward

The rejection of the bill shows that the government does not have enough support in the Lok Sabha to pass major constitutional changes on its own.

It also highlights strong differences between the government and opposition on how women’s reservation should be implemented.

For now, the plan to roll out the quota by 2029 using this method has been delayed.

(With inputs from agencies)