New Delhi: The Modi government faced a major setback in Parliament after the proposed constitutional amendment linked to women’s reservation and delimitation failed to pass in the Lok Sabha. A day after the defeat, opposition parties questioned the Centre’s approach and suggested simpler ways to implement women’s reservation before the 2029 general elections.
The bill was presented as a step to expand the Lok Sabha and bring 33 per cent reservation for women. However, it failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the House.
After the vote, opposition leaders said the government should stop linking women’s reservation to census and delimitation and instead reserve seats immediately under the current strength of the Lok Sabha.
The issue has now turned into a political battle, with both the government and opposition accusing each other of blocking women’s representation.
Many parties said they support reservation for women but disagree with the method chosen by the Centre.
The failed bill would have increased the total Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 and then introduced reservation after a fresh delimitation exercise.
Opposition leaders argued that if the government is serious about empowering women, it should act now without waiting for constituency changes.
Several opposition leaders came forward with alternative proposals after the bill failed.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi asked why the government cannot reserve 180 of the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats for women in the next election cycle.
Since 33 per cent of 543 seats comes to around 180 seats, opposition leaders said this could be done directly if there is genuine political will.
Chaturvedi also suggested a second option. She said the government could amend the law again and remove the condition that links women’s reservation with census and delimitation.
According to her, if the government really wants implementation in 2029, it can bring a fresh amendment in the next Parliament session and activate the quota system without delay.
Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and KC Venugopal reportedly supported similar views.
Opposition parties said they are not against women’s reservation. Instead, they claimed the Centre was using the quota issue to push a wider political restructuring through delimitation.
Some leaders also raised concerns that changes in parliamentary seats could affect the balance of representation between states.
They said southern and northeastern states could lose political influence if delimitation is based mainly on population growth.
Sources said parties in the INDIA alliance may write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold press conferences across the country to state their support for women’s reservation while opposing the current bill format.
The opposition message is clear: reserve seats now or remove the delimitation condition.
The voting took place during a three-day special session of Parliament.
The constitutional amendment bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 votes against it.
Out of 528 members who voted, the bill needed 352 votes to pass because constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
Since it fell short, the bill failed in the Lok Sabha.
This was seen as the first major legislative defeat for the Modi government since it came to power in 2014.
After the failure of the main bill, the government said it would not move ahead with two other connected proposals — the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill.
These bills were considered linked to the larger plan for expanding seats and implementing women’s reservation.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah strongly criticised the opposition after the vote.
He said opposition parties were celebrating the bill’s defeat and called it an insult to women.
He also warned that women voters would remember the opposition’s stand in future elections, including the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also attacked the opposition.
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He said they had lost an opportunity to honour the women of India and accused the Congress party of being anti-women.
Rijiju added that the government would continue efforts until reservation for women in legislatures becomes reality.
The debate has now shifted from whether women should get reservation to how and when it should happen.
Most political parties publicly support greater representation for women.
However, sharp differences remain over the process.
Supporters of the government say expanding the Lok Sabha first would allow reservation without reducing seats currently held by sitting male politicians.
Opponents argue this makes implementation uncertain and delayed.
They say women should not have to wait for census updates, seat expansion and constituency redrawing.
Political analysts believe the issue may remain active until the next general election.
Women voters are a major electoral force across India, and all parties are likely to campaign strongly on representation.
The failed vote has also shown that passing constitutional amendments can be difficult without broad consensus.
Going forward, the government may try to build support for a revised proposal.
The opposition, meanwhile, is likely to continue pressing for immediate reservation under the present 543-seat Lok Sabha.
For now, the promise of women’s reservation remains unfinished, but the political fight around it has only grown stronger.
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