How is a Constitution Amendment Bill passed?
A Constitutional Amendment Bill must secure two-thirds of majority votes in both Houses, and get ratified by at least 50% State legislatures, if it affects the federal structure, before receiving an assent from President
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Context
The Union Government has introduced the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, aiming to dramatically increase the Lok Sabha's strength from 543 to 850 seats. The bill seeks to remove the existing constitutional freeze on delimitation tied to the 1971 Census, empowering Parliament to use alternative recent demographic data for seat allocation. This has sparked intense protests from southern opposition parties who fear a steep reduction in their regional political representation.
UPSC Perspectives
Polity Lens (Constitutional Mechanisms)
Under [Article 81] and [Article 82] of the Constitution, parliamentary constituencies are meant to be reallocated after every census to ensure uniform population representation. However, the [84th Amendment Act] in 2001 froze the state-wise allocation of seats until the first census published after 2026, effectively keeping representation pegged to 1971 demographic data. The newly proposed 131st Amendment Bill seeks to bypass this post-2026 census prerequisite, allowing immediate constituency redrawing through ordinary law. A newly constituted [Delimitation Commission], typically led by a Supreme Court judge, will execute this mammoth exercise. For UPSC Prelims, remember that the orders of this commission have the force of law and cannot be challenged in any court, making its demographic baseline highly consequential.
Governance Lens (Federalism & Demographic Penalty)
The redistribution of legislative seats strictly based on current population metrics poses a severe challenge to cooperative federalism. Southern states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala successfully stabilized their populations through effective family planning and governance, whereas several northern states experienced rapid demographic expansion. If Lok Sabha seats are reallocated purely on population size, southern states will see their proportional share of national political power shrink significantly. Critics argue this acts as a demographic penalty, unfairly punishing states for achieving vital national developmental goals. From a Mains perspective, this debate requires balancing the core democratic principle of 'one person, one vote' against the need to protect regional equity and federal trust.
Social Lens (Catalyst for Women's Reservation)
A major driving force behind expanding the parliament is the operationalization of gender quotas in the legislature. The 106th Constitutional Amendment, officially known as the [Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam], mandated a 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, but its rollout was legally contingent upon the next delimitation exercise. By accelerating the delimitation timeline and expanding the absolute number of seats to 850, the 131st Amendment Bill ensures that women's reservation can be implemented immediately without waiting for the delayed 2026-2031 census cycle. Strategically, enlarging the overall legislative pie allows for the introduction of roughly 272 reserved seats for women without causing a massive displacement of sitting male MPs, thereby lowering immediate political resistance.