Assembly elections, politics, and women’s reservation will mark a new chapter in the history of democracy in April 2026. Following the approval from the Union Cabinet, Modi 3.0 has announced the introduction and discussion of the Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill in Parliament next week, from April 16th to April 18th, 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself announced the bill’s introduction in Parliament at an election rally in Cooch Behar, West Bengal.
Furthermore, before introducing it in the House, the Bharatiya Janata Party is planning a nationwide mass movement, starting on April 13th at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, led by all women members of the party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself may attend this event.
As for the introduction of this bill in Parliament, the proposal would increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from the current 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women. Upon approval by Parliament, the law would come into effect on March 31, 2029, and would be effective for the first time in the Lok Sabha elections that year.
According to the bill’s proposal, reservations would be implemented on a vertical basis, meaning that a share for women would also be determined in seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
PM Modi published an article on his website regarding this bill, in which he wrote that the proposed changes to the Women’s Reservation Act are not just a legislative act, but a reflection of the aspirations of millions of women across India. He also appealed to all MPs to come together to support this measure, saying, “Parliament, transcending all parties, should unite in support of this important step for the women of India.”
Actually, the Women’s Reservation Bill, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Act (106th Constitutional Amendment), was passed by Parliament in 2023 during Modi 2.0’s tenure. It reserves 33% (one-third) of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. Its purpose is to increase women’s participation in the Lok Sabha, state legislatures, and the Delhi Assembly. This was the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which became the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act.
It was originally intended to be implemented after the completion of the census and delimitation process, but will now be implemented in 2029 based on the 2011 census. This reservation is provided for a period of 15 years, which can be extended by Parliament if desired.
Under this amendment, the number of Lok Sabha seats can be increased from 543 to 816 after delimitation, meaning that the number of Lok Sabha seats in each state will increase by 50%. For example, Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats, and after its implementation, the number of Lok Sabha seats will increase by 50%, i.e., 40, making the total number of Lok Sabha seats 120.
This law was not implemented in 2024 because it contained a delimitation clause.
This provision is separate from the existing reservations for local bodies (panchayats) under Article 243D of the Constitution.
Out of the 541 current MPs in the Lok Sabha, 75 are women, representing 13.86% of the total seats in the lower house. In the Rajya Sabha, 41 out of the 242 current MPs are women, representing 16.9% of the total seats in the upper house. At the same time, there is not a single woman MP in the Parliament from Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep.
