"Proposed 850-seat Lok Sabha raises concerns over legislative effectiveness and democracy"
Delimitation
redrawing of constituency boundaries and reallocation of parliamentary seats after each census under Article 82.
Article 368
constitutional provision governing amendment procedure; requires special majority (total membership majority + two-thirds of members present and voting).
Delimitation — the periodic redrawing of constituency boundaries and reallocation of parliamentary seats — is constitutionally mandated under Article 82, which requires Parliament to enact a Delimitation Act after every census. A statutory Delimitation Commission is then constituted to carry out the exercise. India has had four such commissions since independence. The current 543-seat Lok Sabha composition has been frozen since the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976), which suspended fresh delimitation to avoid penalising states that had successfully reduced population growth. The 84th Constitutional Amendment (2001) extended this freeze until after the first census conducted post-2026, meaning seat allocation has remained static for roughly five decades.
The proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill seeks to expand the Lok Sabha from 543 to approximately 850 seats — an increase of roughly 57 per cent. Any such change requires a special majority under Article 368: a majority of the total membership of each House and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting. The Bill failed in an earlier vote when the ruling alliance could muster only around 298 MPs — well short of the approximately 360 votes required. Subsequent political realignments raised the coalition's tally to around 329, still short of the threshold. The women's reservation law — the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act — is procedurally linked to delimitation, as its implementation is explicitly contingent on a fresh delimitation exercise, making the two reform agendas politically inseparable.
The core justification for expansion is demographic: India's population has more than doubled since the 543-seat limit was effectively set, meaning each MP now represents far more citizens than was originally envisioned. Proponents argue this dilutes representational quality and that a larger House would bring Parliament closer to the people. However, democratic theory and comparative practice consistently challenge this logic. The United States House of Representatives was legally capped at 435 members in 1929, when the American population stood at 120 million; today, with a population exceeding 335 million, the cap remains unchanged. The United States compensates through robust constituency offices, a highly organised committee system, and modern communication infrastructure — not by expanding the chamber itself. …
Which of the following is/are the exclusive power(s) of Lok Sabha?
1.To ratify the declaration of Emergency
2.To pass a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers
3.To impeach the President of India
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following statements :
1.In the first Lok Sabha, the single largest party in the opposition was the Swatantra Party.
2.In the Lok Sabha, a "Leader of the Opposition" was recognised for the first time in 1969.
3.In the Lok Sabha, if a party does not have a minimum of 75 members, its leader cannot be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements:
1.In the election for Lok Sabha or State Assembly, the winning candidate must get at least 50 percent of the votes polled, to be declared elected.
2.According to the provisions laid down in the Constitution of India, in Lok Sabha, the Speaker's post goes to the majority party and the Deputy Speaker's to the Opposition.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements regarding delimitation in India:
1.Article 82 of the Constitution requires Parliament to enact a Delimitation Act after every census.
2.The 42nd Constitutional Amendment froze delimitation to avoid penalising states with successful population control.
3.The 84th Constitutional Amendment extended the delimitation freeze until after the first census post-2026.
4.A Delimitation Commission is a constitutional body established under Article 82 itself.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Which of the following correctly describes the special majority required to pass a constitutional amendment under Article 368 of the Indian Constitution?
With reference to the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act relating to women's reservation in the Lok Sabha, consider the following statements:
1.It reserves one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women.
2.Its implementation is contingent on the completion of a fresh delimitation exercise.
3.It also applies to the Rajya Sabha.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Assertion (A): Expanding the Lok Sabha to 850 seats would not necessarily improve the quality of parliamentary scrutiny of the executive.
Reason (R): In a fixed parliamentary session, the time available for debate is a finite resource, and a larger House reduces the average speaking time available to each member.
Which of the following is correct?
Which of the following constitutional provisions are directly relevant to the governance of local bodies and help address the argument that expanding Lok Sabha seats is necessary to improve local representation?
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