BJP leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said the Women’s Reservation Act cannot be implemented until after the first census conducted after 2026 [1].
This delay is significant because it postpones the operationalization of reserved seats for women in parliamentary bodies, sparking a political debate over whether the timeline is a legal necessity or a strategic maneuver.
Speaking in an interview with India Today, Rao said the timeline is dictated by the 106th Constitutional Amendment [1]. According to Rao, this specific amendment links the process of delimitation, the act of redrawing electoral boundaries, to the census that follows the year 2026 [1].
He said that the current legal framework prevents the reservation from taking effect sooner. "Delimitation is linked to the first Census conducted after 2026 under the 106th Constitutional Amendment," Rao said [1]. He said that implementing women’s reservation earlier would require changes to the law [1].
However, the timeline has drawn criticism from political opponents. Kuldeep Singh Rathore, an AICC spokesperson and Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA, said the BJP is misleading the nation on women’s reservation and violating the Model Code of Conduct [2].
Beyond the party divide, the issue of delimitation has created tension across India. Some reports indicate that southern states have raised strong objections to the process [3]. While Rao described delimitation as a technical, constitution-mandated process tied to the census, others suggest that political calculations may be influencing the delay [3].
Under the current structure, the government must first conduct the post-2026 census and then complete the delimitation process before the reserved seats for women can be formally established [1].
“"Delimitation is linked to the first Census conducted after 2026 under the 106th Constitutional Amendment."”
The linkage between the Women's Reservation Act and the post-2026 census creates a legal bottleneck that prevents immediate gender-based quotas in parliament. Because delimitation often shifts the balance of political power between more populous northern states and the southern states, the delay ensures that seat redistribution occurs simultaneously with the implementation of reservations, potentially mitigating regional political backlash.
