Women's Quota Missing in Delimitation Debate

The elephant in the room is reservation for women of one-third seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as well as the National Capital Region post the expiry of the 2026 deadline.

- SHIKHA MUKERJEE

The current wrangling over delimitation is not limited to 'freeze or increase' in the number of seats whenever the 5th Delimitation Commission is set up, which by law requires a census to be held first.

Implementing women's reservation in representation was put off in 2023 when the 106th constitutional amendment was adopted following the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, otherwise referred to as the Women's Reservation Act, on the entirely legitimate plea that it would have to be done on the basis of a full-fledged delimitation exercise. Be that as it may, that argument, however, was overturned in the case of delimitation of constituencies for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The expansion of reservation of constituencies to create a new category--women--requires a follow-through under the terms of the 2023. Freeze or increase, however the legislation establishing the Delimitation Commission is framed, one-third of all elected legislative seats, that is seats in the Lok Sabha, all the state assemblies, and the National Capital Region, will have to be assigned to women.

The brawl over delimitation, how it will impact states that have succeeded in slowing population growth—whether it will be a penalty or a reward—is edging towards the centre-stage in national politics. The unanimous silence on how women's reservation will work out under these circumstances indicates a reluctance to address the issue.