The Union government is pushing to implement 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by the 2029 general elections. This plan hinges on a fresh delimitation exercise following the long-delayed national census, now scheduled to conclude by March 1, 2027.
This marks the first official mention of the 2029 timeline, previously assumed to be feasible only by 2034. The Women’s Reservation Bill, or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, passed in 2023, mandates that reservation can take effect only after delimitation based on post-2026 census data.
The delimitation commission, to be set up after census publication, will redraw constituency boundaries, an exercise expected to take 2-3 years. Government officials are relying on digitisation to fast-track census data processing, enabling timely completion of the process.
A key challenge is addressing southern states’ concerns that population-based delimitation could reduce their representation. These states argue that they are being penalised for controlling population growth since the 1970s and ’80s.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured earlier this year that southern states would not lose seats. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has accused the Centre of attempting to weaken the South’s parliamentary influence and has demanded that the 1971 census framework be retained for another 30 years.
Experts warn that the upcoming delimitation may significantly increase seats in populous northern states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, further intensifying regional imbalance unless corrective measures are adopted.
With census preparations underway and political debates heating up, the road to women’s reservation by 2029 will be closely watched.
