India must conduct delimitation after the first Census held beyond 2026, while also implementing women’s reservation. S.Y. Quraishi maintains that neither reform requires enlarging the 543-member Lok Sabha. He proposes redrawing constituencies within States while preserving the present distribution of seats among States.

Constitutional and Institutional References for Delimitation

  1. Article 81 links representation to population only “so far as practicable”, leaving room for other constitutional objectives.
  2. Article 82 provides for readjustment after every Census.
  3. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment froze inter-State allocation using the 1971 Census to protect States that reduced population growth.
  4. The 84th Constitutional Amendment extended that freeze until figures from the first Census after 2026 are published.
  5. Delimitation after the 2001 Census redrew constituencies within States while retaining the existing inter-State allocation.

Challenges Associated with Delimitation

  1. A 50% increase would raise Uttar Pradesh from 80 seats to 120 and Tamil Nadu from 39 seats to about 59.
  2. Such expansion would widen the absolute gap between States despite preserving their proportional shares.
  3. A House with more than 800 members would reduce opportunities to speak, ask questions and raise public matters.
  4. Parliamentary time does not expand when the number of Members of Parliament increases.
  5. Most citizen demands concern roads, schools, hospitals and local services within the State sphere.
  6. Expanding the House could increase women’s numbers while widening the voting advantage of more populous States.

Suggestions for Effective Delimitation

  1. Retain the Lok Sabha at 543 seats and preserve the current inter-State distribution.
  2. Use the 2027 Census to redraw boundaries reflecting population movement and urbanisation within each State.
  3. Make constituencies more equal in population without increasing the Lok Sabha beyond 543.
  4. Implement women’s reservation within the existing House, where one-third equals approximately 181 seats.
  5. Expand State Assemblies and create smaller Assembly constituencies to improve citizen access.

Mains Angle

GS Paper II: Parliament, federalism and constitutional amendments. Practice question: Can delimitation improve representational equality without changing the inter-State balance of the Lok Sabha? Discuss.