India Parliament blocks Modi’s bid to redraw voting boundaries alongside seat quota for women

NEW DELHI (AP) — A bill to reserve a third of seats for women lawmakers failed to pass in the lower house of India's Parliament on Friday, along with a separate, linked proposal to expand the national legislature by redrawing voting boundaries.

The measure was seen as one of the most significant changes to India’s political system since independence from British colonial rule in 1947, but fell short after two days of debate involving both government and opposition lawmakers. It sought to mandate implementation of 33% representation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, a move aimed at increasing female participation in a system where women remain underrepresented.

However, the quota was tied to a contentious plan to redraw voting boundaries across India, which became a major sticking point. While there was broad cross-party support for increasing women’s representation, opposition parties warned that redrawing voting boundaries and expanding the size of Parliament could shift the political balance in favor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Both bills were introduced by Modi’s government during a three-day special session of Parliament that began Thursday and required approval by two-thirds of lawmakers. The legislation tied to the women’s quota fell short of that threshold, and the government later withdrew the delimitation proposal.

The delimitation exercise, if passed, would have increased the number of seats in the lower house from 543 to about 850 by ​the time of the ⁠next parliamentary elections due in 2029.

Major opposition groups had resisted the bill, warning that basing constituencies on population data taken from the 2011 census could shift political power toward faster-growing northern states while reducing the representation, seat share, and influence of southern regions. They also argued the changes could benefit Modi’s party, which enjoys strong support in the north.

The government rejected these concerns, saying the plan would include a uniform 50% increase in seats across all states to preserve proportional representation nationwide. However, critics noted that the draft legislation did not explicitly guarantee this.

Hours before the bills were set to be taken up for a vote, Modi said on X that the government had addressed all concerns and “misconceptions surrounding the legislation with facts and logic.”

But opposition leaders remained unconvinced. Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party described the move as “an attempt to change the electoral map of India.”