Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 12: With the monsoon session of Parliament not yet been prorogued, speculations are rife that the Centre is planning to convene re-convene the House at a short notice to take a second shot at the passage of the women’s reservation bill to provide for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies.
Official sources said on Thursday that the government was now confident that it would be a able to muster the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha required for the passage of the constitution amendment bill, and rather might even shot over by about 15 to 18 votes under the changed political equations since the first attempt in April fell short of the target.
The government sources said they were confident of having the necessary numbers but did not reveal the proposed dates or duration of the session. The bill requires 361 votes for passage, with the Lok Sabha currently having 540 members against its sanctioned strength of 543 due to three vacancies.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament was adjourned sine die on August 13, 2026, but has not yet been formally prorogued, as against the normal practice of the President proroguing the House in a day or two after being adjourned sine die, leaving the door open for a reconvened or short-notice session. The monsoon session this time has remained unprorogued for 91 days, surpassing the 2008 record of 87 days of the House remaining alive after being adjourned sine die.
The Constitution does not prescribe a specific timeframe for proroguing a House after it has been adjourned sine die. Keeping a session unprorogued for an extended period does not, by itself, amount to any constitutional or procedural impropriety.
The proposed legislation seeks to expand Lok Sabha strength to accommodate a 33% reservation for women. The government has linked the women’s reservation with delimitation of the constituencies to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from the existing 543 seats to a maximum of 850 through delimitation, while attempting to address concerns of southern states by keeping inter-state seat ratios intact based on the 1971 Census.
The move comes after a similar Constitution amendment bill failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha during a special sitting of the Budget Session on April 17. An extended sitting of the existing session requires a minimum notice of only two days, while a fresh session can be convened with at least 14 days’ notice. The government’s decision to keep the Monsoon Session unprorogued had fuelled speculation about a possible extended or special sitting to consider the proposed amendment.
To address concerns raised by southern states, the government is proposing a 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats for every state. The move is also aimed at implementing the women’s reservation law before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
The fresh draft, building on the earlier proposal, is learnt to have suggested retaining the existing inter-state seat ratios based on the 1971 Census. However, government sources said this was only one of the options under consideration and no final decision has been taken.
The proposed special session is aimed at securing the numbers needed to expand the Lok Sabha and enable 33 per cent reservation for women, though the government has yet to finalise the session schedule and the provisions of the fresh amendment bill, the sources said.