A major setback for the government was the Lok Sabha’s failure to pass the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to increase the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha and tweak the Women’s Reservation Act passed in 2023.
To pass the lower house of parliament, the bill needed a two-thirds majority of the Lok Sabha, which is around 360 votes. However, only 298 MPs voted for the bill and 230 MPs voted against it.
“It was not passed by a majority of all members of the House and by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present and voting in accordance with the provisions of Article 368 of the Constitution,” wrote Sansad TV on X.
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Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to opposition leaders to “take a sensitive decision by voting in favor of women’s reservation”.
Voting on the constitutional amendment was not by voice vote, but by division of votes, “which means that it is necessary to clearly state how many votes were cast in support or opposition”.
The government introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. They were the controversial Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026; the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Act, 2026; and the Delimitation Act.
As the Lok Sabha voted on the Constitution Amendment Bill on Friday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government would not go ahead with the other two bills.
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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced, “The Bill (131st Amendment to the Constitution) failed to pass because it failed to secure a two-thirds majority during the House’s voting.”
“Therefore, no further action will now be taken on the Union Territory Legislative Amendment Bill, 2026 and Delimitation Bill, 2026, which were joined with the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026,” he said.
The trinity debate began on Thursday and continued on Friday. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, strongly opposed the bill, saying the debate was not about women’s reservation, but linked it to delimitation based on the 2011 census.
Today’s Lok Sabha Debate: Rahul Gandhi versus Amit Shah
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the government over the delimitation bill, which is among the legislation to implement women’s reservation from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, saying it had “nothing to do with women’s empowerment” and was “an attempt to change India’s electoral map”.
“The first truth is that this is not a bill for women. It has nothing to do with women empowerment. This is an attempt to change the electoral map of India. In fact, it is a shameful act,” he said.
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“What we are trying to do here is bypass the caste census. They are trying to avoid giving power, representing my OBC brothers and sisters and taking it away from them… the point is not that the caste census will be used for representation in Parliament, the Vidhan Sabha. What you are trying to do is ensure that the representation is represented by filling the census.” in 10 years,” added Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the opposition will not allow the three bills to be passed and said the government should implement the Nari Shakti Act without delay.
“Giving reservation to women, that’s easy and every member of the opposition will pass it…bring that old law back now, we’ll help you pass it with implementation right now. That’s a women’s law, this is something else. The truth needs to be told about what it is,” he said.
In his reply, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday targeted the opposition parties over their stance on the bills to introduce reservation for women from the 2029 general elections, saying they would face the wrath of women when they fight the next elections.
Amit Shah claimed that “all members of the INDI alliance had an if, but, …against the bill” brought by the government to introduce women’s reservation from the 2029 general elections.
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Reacting to the marathon debate in the Lok Sabha on the three bills, Amit Shah accused the opposition parties of trying to create a south-versus-north narrative over delimitation and the proposed increase in the number of seats, saying that the southern states have equal right over the house with the northern states.
“Mahil dekh rahin hain, raste ka roda kaun hai (women see who is the obstacle in their way). When they (opposition members) fight in the polls, they will face the wrath of women,” he said.
“No one objected to women’s reservation. But if we see carefully, all members of the INDI alliance have opposed it with ‘ifs and buts’,” he said.
Referring to the strong objections of opposition parties to the delimitation bill, Amit Shah said that the constitution provides for regular delimitation.
“Delimitation also includes a provision for increasing seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their growing population. Those who are against delimitation are in a way also against increasing SCs and ST seats,” he said.
He also claimed, “I make it clear that the Southern states have as much right over this house as the Northern states. This country should not be divided by a north-south story.”
