Modi-Shah's Push to Change Electoral Map Fails

The Narendra Modi government has failed to pass bills-The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 that sought to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 and delimitation through its stated objective of operationalising 33% reservation for women. The final vote in the Lok Sabha recorded 298 ‘ayes’ and 230 ‘noes’. There were 528 MPs present and voting. The government needed two-thirds majority to pass the bills, which was 352. It fell short by 54 votes. While the government has blamed the opposition for not bringing in women's reservation, the opposition has hailed victory for stopping "an unconstitutional trick in the name of women." The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Seema Chishti, editor, The Wire and Siddharth Varadarajan.