Number of Lok Sabha seats will be increased to 850, one-third reserved for women; Govt distributes bills to MPs

NEW DELHI: The central government has distributed the Delimitation Bill and the Women’s Reservation Bill to Members of Parliament. The proposal aims to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats to 850. A commission will also be appointed to carry out the delimitation of constituencies.

Women’s Reservation Bill will be implemented once the delimitation process is completed. A commission will be appointed for this purpose. The number of seats in both the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies will be increased. Presently, there are 543 MPs in the Lok Sabha, which is proposed to be raised to 850. Of these, 815 MPs will represent the states and 35 will represent Union Territories. One-third of the total seats will be reserved for women. One-third of the 850 seats will be for women.

The delimitation commission will be headed by a Supreme Court judge. The Chief Election Commissioner or a nominee will be a member, along with the Election Commissioner from each state.

However, opposition parties including the Congress have directed to postpone the delimitation process, but the government has not agreed to this.