India’s government launched a bid to overhaul its democratic system yesterday, with bills to increase the size of parliament and bring forward plans to reserve a third of seats for women – though the opposition dismissed it as an attempt to manipulate elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the lower house of parliament the proposals – which would also increase the number of legislators and women in regional assemblies and redraw constituencies – would move India in a ‘new direction’. “I believe that (women’s) voice in this house will bring new strength, fresh thinking, and a greater sense of sensitivity,” he said.
The government said the alterations to boundaries reflected population changes since seats were last fixed after a 1971 census.
Modi’s National Democratic Alliance government does not have the two-thirds majority it needs to get the measures through both houses of parliament and is hoping to convince some smaller parties and opposition groups to back the bills.
The bills would increase the number of legislators in the lower house of parliament by around 55pc to 850 – and make similar increases to state legislatures – by the time of the next parliamentary elections due in 2029.
The bills would reserve one-third of seats for women in the expanded assemblies by the same date. The one-third share was agreed in legislation passed in 2023, but that was linked to the next census which would take the changes beyond the next election.
The changes also need to be ratified by at least half the state legislatures before they can become law.
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