Overview
- The special three-day Parliament sitting from April 16–18 will take up amendments to put the 33 percent women’s reservation into force for the 2029 polls, with a BJP three-line whip enforcing full attendance.
- Modi wrote to all floor leaders on Saturday urging a unanimous vote, saying the law should apply to the 2029 Lok Sabha and state elections.
- The Union Cabinet cleared three bills for the session — a constitutional amendment, a Delimitation Bill and a law extending the quota to union territories — and reports say the plan would use 2011 Census data to delink the rollout from the 2027 Census.
- The changes would raise Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 with 273 reserved for women, expanding representation nationwide.
- Opposition leaders led by Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi back reservation but object to the delimitation approach, calling for an all-party meeting after April 29 and warning that the proposal could unfairly shift political weight across states.