The freeze on constituency boundaries for both the Indian parliament and the respective state assemblies is set to end in 2026. This means that a census-based delimitation is scheduled to be done in the upcoming years. Given the exponential rise in population over the past two decades, the number of seats in the Lok Sabha is set to increase to at least 848, as opposed to the 543 we have now (Vaishnav & Hinston, 2019). A similar increase will be reflected across state assemblies as well. The opening of the new parliament with a sitting capacity of up to 1,000 MPs in the Lok Sabha foreshadows this upcoming increase. 

The introduction of the 300 new seats in the Lok Sabha, along with a proportional increase in the Rajya Sabha and the state assemblies, creates space for the emergence of new leaders, and that is exactly why it would be the best time to get any semblance of women’s reservation done. The Women’s Reservation Bill, which initially started ideation in 1993 and was first introduced by the Deve Gowda government in 1996, still rests in the archives of the parliament and shows no signs of progress in the near future. So, we must reimagine the bill and get it through during the delimitation exercise, as any opportunity like this may not emerge anytime soon.

Do we need women’s reservations?

The representation of women in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha has seen a slow but steady increase. The current parliament holds the record for the highest-ever representation of women at only 14.5% (Krishnaswamy, 2020). 

% of Women MPs in the Lok Sabha                                               

Source: `PRS Legislative Research

However, this is nowhere close to nearly 48% of the population, which women make up, and is much lower than the global average of 24.6%, putting Indian women worse off than 140 other countries. The situation is not better in the state assemblies as well. As of 2022, Chhattisgarh has the highest percentage of female MLAs at 14.44%, with Nagaland and Mizoram having no representation at all (Ministry of Law and Justice, 2022).

Source: Press Information Bureau

The above record shows us that the creation of reservations for women is crucial  to ensuring better representation across all legislative bodies.

Additionally, there is evidence from the panchayat level, where women’s reservation currently exists, suggesting that villages led by female sarpanches are significantly better off in comparison to male-led ones over a five-year period. It was shown that access to basic services, including drinking water, sewer maintenance, schools and welfare schemes, has improved, along with the increase in reporting of crimes against women and higher political involvement (Dubochet, 2014). This shows that female Indian leaders tend to lift as they grow, which gives all the more reason to provide reservations. 

How would the new bill be different?

There were two main reasons why the previous women’s reservation bill failed. Based on the analysis of parliamentary debates and discussions conducted by Vicky Randall, the first reason was attributed to the reluctance of male MPs to relinquish their power to women or to yield their seats to them. The second, and more sensible, reason is that many leaders felt that these positions would be held by upper or middle-class women and would affect class-based representation in the legislative bodies (Randall, 2006). Delimitation creates a natural gap and removes the first reason completely. Because the 300 seats will be newly carved out, no male MPs will lose out on their seats. That is why the new women’s reservation bill should focus on the provision of 33% or even 50% reservations in these new seats themselves rather than the existing 543. Even a 33% reservation in these new seats would give 15% of the overall (873) seats to women and guarantee minimum representation in the legislative bodies.

The  second problem can be resolved by making this reservation intersectional. This reservation would cut across the SC and ST reservations, which would lead to the creation of some seats that are reserved for SC and ST women, respectively, and guarantee diversity of class and region amongst the women elected.  

A good place to start

While just 15% reservation amongst all legislative bodies is not the ideal situation, what it gives is a minimum number of women who will be a part of the governance process and an effective  platform for future reservations to work upon. Even politically, this system would have a higher chance of gaining multi-party support and actually passing through parliament than any of the previous bills.  

Reservations for women still hold weight because of the extensively positive results they have created in local body elections over the years. Studies on the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) elections have substantially proven that incumbent women candidates have a better chance at winning elections even after the reservation is removed from their constituency because they have a record to prove their mettle and a better platform to start from. If a similar shuffling is followed across these newly reserved constituencies as well, it is bound to have a positive result for women’s representation across legislative bodies (Bhavnani, 2009).

In the long term, this will create two advantages. The first is the easing of barriers to the participation of women, especially financially. Because the size of each constituency would be substantially lower than what it is currently, it would be much easier for women to contest and win these elections without the high risk of financial ruin, which might act as a catalyst to bring more women into the foray. The second is the possibility of creating a minimum nomination of women per party system, which is favoured by many political parties that currently exist, along with  a lot of feminist activists. If the situation permits, this would also open doors and bring into the fold the conversation about reservations for people of the transgender community as well, which has been the demand of the community for a long time now and has been ignored in the recent Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

Women’s reservation in 2026 is not just an opportunity, it is a necessity that opens the door for many possibilities that could not even be dreamt of until now and can be achieved in the near future. It is high time for India to finally give women the representation they have earned and rightfully deserve.

Views expressed by the author are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research.

Dodda Teja Adarsh

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