How to fast-track reservation for women in Parliament — a roadmap, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• The government is set to discuss amendments to the Women's Reservation Act, 2023, signaling progress in its implementation.
• The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 aims to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.
• A proposal suggests increasing the Lok Sabha strength from 543 to approximately 816 seats, with the additional 273 seats reserved for women.
• The author proposes a temporary solution using proportional representation to implement women's reservation without waiting for delimitation.

Detailed Insights:

• The primary challenge in implementing the Women's Reservation Act is the creation of new constituencies, which requires delimitation following a Census, expected after 2026.
• Delimitation is unlikely to be completed before 2032 or 2033, causing delays in the implementation of the reservation for women.
• The Constitution freezes the allocation of seats among states until the first Census after 2026, potentially requiring another constitutional amendment to change this arrangement earlier.
• A proposed solution involves using a limited version of proportional representation, allocating additional seats to parties based on their vote share, with parties nominating women from pre-declared lists.
• This approach would allow for the implementation of women’s reservation as early as the 2029 general election without the need for delimitation.
• The author suggests that additional seats for women could be introduced in the current Lok Sabha itself, using the vote shares of the most recent general election.
• The proposed arrangement can be temporary, operating for one or two elections until delimitation is completed and seats can be reserved within the normal electoral system.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Delimitation: The process of redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary or assembly constituencies to reflect changes in population.
• Proportional Representation (PR): An electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them.
• Constitutional Amendment: A modification to the constitution of a nation or state, which can add to, delete from, or modify the text.