The much talked about and rather an over ambitious Delimitation bill 2026 alongwith the 136 th amendment exercise of the BJP led NDA which were discussed to the hilt in parliament with the opposition I.N.D.I.A accusing the saffron party of associating the 136 th amendment to give 33 % percent reservation to women with the Delimitation Bill 2026 with 2011 census as the base year but without bringing OBC into account has finally failed despite 278 votes in favour and 211 against.
The LOP Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been very vocal on these bills of women reservation and Delimitation telling the people how the women reservation bill was earlier on two ocassions introduced in parliament by Congress and Sonia Gandhi and even passed by Rajya Sabha but was erroneously opposed by none other but the saffron party.
Priyanka Gandhi said that the entire opposition sensed the ill conceived notion / political ulterior motive behind introducing this ammendment with the Delimitation bill so exoeditiously keeping the census base of 2011 but not including OBC census.
LOP Rahul emphatically and catagorically said they will oppose it tooth and nail till the OBC census is not done and added to it.
According to the political analysts the BJP leaders thought that on women reservation bill and increasing the number of parliament members and assembly members’ numbers phenomenally , the opposition will not go against and may vote for this amendment but this was their wrong assesment and the constitution amendment bill failed as according to the article 368 of the constitution the bar is deliberately set higher. Out of 489 members present and voting, the government needed at least 326 votes to cross the two-thirds threshold says veteran journalist, political analyst and COLUMNIST Sujit Nair. He writes :
Delimitation Bill Fails: Majority Isn’t Enough in a Constitutional Democracy
Today, April 17, 2026, something important happened in the Lok Sabha and it’s a lesson many often overlook.
The Delimitation Bill, 2026, along with the 131st Constitutional Amendment, was put to vote. The government got 278 Ayes against 211 Noes. On the face of it, that looks like a clear win.
But the Bill failed. Why?
Because when it comes to changing the Constitution, a simple majority is not enough. Under Article 368 of the Indian Constitution, the bar is deliberately set higher. Out of 489 members present and voting, the government needed at least 326 votes to cross the two-thirds threshold.
They fell short. And that is exactly how the system is designed to work. This wasn’t just a legislative defeat. It was a reminder of the checks and balances built into our democracy.
The Bill itself was not a minor tweak. It proposed a massive restructuring: An increase in Lok Sabha seats from 543 to potentially 850, and a shift to 2011 Census data, effectively ending the decades-old freeze linked to the 1971 Census.
On paper, this looks like correcting representation.
In reality, it opens up a deeper fault line.
States that controlled population growth now fear losing relative political weight. Leaders like Rahul Gandhi, M. K. Stalin, and Revanth Reddy called it an assault on federal balance.
And here lies the real story.
This vote was not just about numbers in Parliament. It was about numbers of people across India and how their voices are weighted. The Constitution steps in precisely at such moments. It forces consensus, not just majority. It demands that structural changes carry wider acceptance, not just political muscle.
The government had the numbers to govern.
But not the numbers to redefine representation. And this distinction is the strength of democracy.
It is its strongest safeguard.
The senior journalist Umakant Lakhera while speaking to UKnationnews said that now the BJP will play the victim card in West Bengal after the failing of the Delimitation and wimen reservation bill related amendment exercise in the Lok Sabha. He writes : Though the BJP’s move under the guise of women’s reservation backfires! Now it will resort to the victim card! However, the government already knew the Constitution Amendment Bill would fail! Now the BJP is gearing up to play the victim card in Bengal! It’s important to note that the BJP also thwarted attempts to break into the opposition camp! The opposition attacked the government for two days in the Lok Sabha! BJP allies couldn’t stomach the panic said senior journalist Lakhera.
