Apr 15, 2026 16:54 pm IST

Opinion | 38% vs 18%: How Bengal Exposes The Biggest Irony Of Women's Reservation

Bengal with its duality - 38% women in Parliament versus 18% in the state contest - captures the core tension of the Bill better than any other example.

Rasheed Kidwai Rasheed Kidwai Columnist

Rasheed Kidwai Columnist

Long debated and stalled for decades, the legislative odyssey of the Women's Reservation Bill, now formally known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, began nearly 30 years ago when it was introduced in September 1996. In September 2023, the Parliament finally passed the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill unanimously, reserving 33% of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly.

The law seeks to correct India's gender imbalance in politics, where women currently account for only about 15% of Parliamentary representation. The catch, however, is that the law was tied to the completion of a fresh census and a subsequent delimitation exercise, pushing implementation to 2034 at the earliest.

What The Delimitation Pivot Hides

The Union government is now attempting to accelerate this timeline by proposing amendments that would use 2011 census data instead of the pending census and expand Lok Sabha seats by 50% - from 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women - asking the Parliament to pass this in three days while West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are still mid-election.

In response, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has accused the government of "rushing the process to gain political advantage" as the Congress Working Committee warns of the profound consequences of the delimitation proposal. While the 50% seat expansion is presented as equitable, the absolute gaps between........

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