India’s government is pushing to significantly expand the size of parliament, aiming to boost women’s representation, but opposition parties argue the move could politically favor the ruling party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ahead of a special parliamentary session that the reforms would mark a historic step toward empowering women. The proposed constitutional amendments would increase the total number of seats to over 800 while reserving 33% for women, fast-tracking a 2023 law designed to improve gender representation.
Despite broad agreement across parties on increasing women’s participation, the proposal has sparked political tensions. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju emphasized that all parties support giving women a stronger role in governance.
Currently, women make up only about 14% of the 543-member Lok Sabha. To implement the changes, the government plans to redraw electoral boundaries based on population data, potentially increasing seats by nearly 40%.
Critics, however, say the plan could disproportionately benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has strong support in India’s more populous northern regions. Opposition leaders from southern states, where population growth is slower, fear the redistribution could reduce their political influence.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said his party supports women’s reservation but accused the government of using the proposal to consolidate power through redistricting and gerrymandering.
Similarly, M. K. Stalin strongly criticized the move, alleging it would marginalize southern states like Tamil Nadu by altering electoral boundaries in favor of northern regions.
The bill requires a two-thirds majority in parliament and will be debated over three days. The government proposes implementing the new seat distribution based on the 2011 census, with changes taking effect in the 2029 general election.
However, opposition parties are urging the government to wait for the results of the ongoing national census, which began this month and is expected to take over a year to complete, with additional time needed to process the data.
