Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill – Lok Sabha Strength Raised to 850 Seats

Key facts

• The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposes to increase the total strength of the Lok Sabha from the current 545 to 850 members.
• The Delimitation Bill, 2026 provides for a Delimitation Commission headed by a Supreme Court judge, with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and State Election Commissioners (SECs) as members.
• The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 makes changes to the laws for Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry.
• The amendment removes the constitutional freeze on readjustment of Lok Sabha seats that was based on the 1971 Census and allows delimitation based on the latest published census figures.
• One-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, including within SC and ST quotas, will be operationalised, with seats to be rotated after each delimitation cycle for a period of 15 years.
• The amendment raises the cap on elected members from states to 815 and from Union Territories to 35.
• The Delimitation Commission will allocate seats, redraw constituency boundaries, and determine reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and women, ensuring constituencies are geographically compact and consider physical features, administrative boundaries, communication facilities, and public convenience.