India Proposes Constitutional Amendment To Expand Lok Sabha To 850 Seats

The Indian government has proposed a constitutional amendment to increase the Lok Sabha's strength from 543 to 850 members.

“The Union government has framed the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposing a significant expansion of the Lok Sabha’s strength from the current 550 members to a maximum of 850, comprising 815 members from States and 35 from Union Territories”

Bar and Bench

The amendment removes the long-standing freeze on seat allocation based on the 1971 Census.

Bar and Bench

The Bill links the expansion to the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, providing 33% reservation for women.

The Delimitation Commission will be chaired by a Supreme Court judge and include election officials.

Orders of the Commission will have the force of law and no judicial challenge allowed.

The proposal has triggered political controversy and opposition pushback.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin warned of massive agitations if southern states' interests are harmed.

Onmanorama

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the government of making a complete mockery of democracy.

Sonia Gandhi called the delimitation proposal extremely dangerous and an assault on the Constitution.

Yogendra Yadav warned the bill opens the floodgates for a total reallocation of seats.

The Bill standardises the definition of population across provisions.

“Women’s quota bill to raise Lok Sabha strength to 850, Centre moves to fast-track implementation New Delhi: The Centre is set to introduce a key Constitution amendment bill in Parliament on Thursday to operationalise 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by increasing the strength of the Lower House from 543 to up to 850”

Onmanorama

Seats reserved for women will be allotted by rotation among different constituencies.

Seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will rotate within reserved constituencies.

The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill makes corresponding changes to UTs.

The shift to population-based readjustment may affect the distribution of seats among states.