The Hindi-Heartland states of North India will benefit the most from the proposed delimitation based on population data from the 2011 Census.
If the strength of the Lok Sabha is expanded to 850 and seats are allocated on the basis of the 2011 census, as envisaged in the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill and the companion Delimitation Bill to be introduced in Parliament, the southern states and the North-East would see a sharp erosion in their share of parliamentary representation, while the Hindus would hit the North Indian underground.
The two bills introduced in the parliamentary session from April 16 seek to do three key things. a) it would raise the Lok Sabha ceiling from 543 to 850 seats (815 from states, 35 from Union territories), b) replace the constitutional freeze that tied the allocation of seats to the 1971 census with an open-ended formula that would allow Parliament to choose the basis for the census by ordinary law, and c) create a delimitation commission that would use the last published census2 to redistribute seats. The stated purpose is to operationalize reservation for women under Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023.
Published – 15 April 2026 13:15 IST
