All central efforts failed! Women’s reservation bill not passed in Lok Sabha.

The 131st Constitution Amendment Bill concerning women’s reservation and the increase of Lok Sabha seats did not pass in the Lok Sabha due to insufficient support. After two days of discussion, the bill (Women Reservation Bill) was presented on Friday, receiving 298 votes in favor and 230 votes against. A total of 528 MPs participated in the voting. Passing the bill required a two-thirds majority, meaning 352 votes.

The government was active in passing three bills during the three-day special session, the first of which was to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for women. This bill was named the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Act’. The second was the Lok Sabha seat redistribution bill. And the third was the Union Territory Law Amendment Bill. However, the opposition alleged that the Modi government was trying to change India’s electoral map under the guise of women’s reservation. The opposition camp united in opposing the bill. During the voting, although 298 votes were cast in favor of the bill, 230 were cast against. Ultimately, the bill could not be passed as the two-thirds majority support was not achieved.

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298 votes were cast in favor of the bill. On the other hand, 230 votes were cast against. A total of 528 MPs participated in the voting. Passing the bill required a two-thirds majority, meaning 352 votes.

The government side had already received indications that the bill would not pass. The final speaker targeted the opposition, calling them anti-women, and also said, “Trust us. Let the bill pass.” However, as the bill did not gain a majority, a central minister said, “This bill was a bill for women’s development. What happened is opposition to women’s power.” In response, a Congress MP said, “We will not hear about women’s development from those who bear the stains of Hathras.”

Furthermore, on a social media platform, the Trinamool’s All India General Secretary wrote, ‘The BJP’s discomfort is now out in the open due to the Lok Sabha seat redistribution bill not passing. Although an amended version of the Women’s Reservation Bill was presented today, it had been passed unanimously in 2023. If the NDA government is truly sincere about women, they should implement that bill for one-third reservation. Trinamool supports this issue; currently, over 41% of Trinamool representatives in Parliament are women.’ He also wrote, ‘The 131st Constitution Amendment Bill, 2026 has been rejected by the INDIA alliance. There are serious questions regarding the justification and balance of the attempt to increase Lok Sabha seats to 850 and redistribute seats based on the 2011 census.’ Finally, he wrote, ‘The NDA government’s time is running out. The illusion they created is now clear to the people.’

It is noteworthy that the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Act’ bill was passed in Parliament in 2023. The bill stated that 33 percent of seats would be reserved for women. It was further stated that seat redistribution would occur after the census. Then, 33 percent of those seats would be reserved for women. But now the center is not waiting for the census. The Modi government wants seat redistribution to be based on the 2011 census. Based on that redistribution, seats would be reserved for women. It is this that the INDIA camp has united to oppose.