Lok Sabha Halts Delimitation Push, Signals Major Political Shift

The rejection of the women’s reservation and delimitation-linked bill marks a moment of reckoning in Indian politics.

By MANISH ANAND

New Delhi, April 18, 2026 — Politics arguably is the only profession shining brightly for its practitioners. Others, quite visibly, are stressed. Factory workers in Noida faced police crackdown. A neta kid, well into his middle-age, in Madhya Pradesh rammed his Thar into a group of people, while also berating them for not clearing the way despite his honking.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India’s political Mughal, politics has become an aspirational profession. It makes the people rich in quick time. Kids of Neta go to colleges in Thar 4X4 — an absolute status symbol of wealth. The white colour, ironed to perfection, defies the gravity of minimum wages.

Gains of the profession come in forms of farmhouses, bungalows, VIP status, free travels and stays, multiple pensions, and a sense of entitlement that mocks at the Aam Aadmi.

Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to fatten the political class by pushing the 131^st Constitution amendment bill. The BJP’s key argument to raise the strength of the Lok Sabha was: if we don’t raise it by 50 percent, you may not be in the House. Incumbent MPs in parliament, in BJP’s belief, has an entitlement to hold their current positions. To this end, the BJP will not mind burdening the Aam Aadmi of India with additional VIPs, 860 in the Lok Sabha and thousands in the state Assemblies.

With current 543 MPs in the Lok Sabha, Delhi Traffic Police had issued an advisory to the people to avoid key roads in the national capital. Image what advisory would have come if there were 860 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

The BJP top brass is averse to counter arguments. Those who dare to counter the narrative being amplified are blocked access. This holds true for the BJP leaders, bureaucrats, and media persons. Thus, the BJP top brass bulldozed with the three bills. They were sanguine with belief that the Congress and the Trinamool Congress will not risk opposing for fear of West Bengal backlash.

Conviction gained in years that the BJP can easily split the Opposition made the BJP top brass believe that there was no need to speak to the constituents opposed to the treasury benches. In Union Minister for parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju and the BJP’s new-found lord of amplifications Nishikant Dubey, Modi-led dispensation has raised a high wall to block any scope for communication with the Opposition.

By seeking to turn the narrative around portraying the Opposition as anti-women, the BJP top brass is seeking to mute the loud message: a grave error of the leadership has been revealed to the people. This is the turning point in the Indian politics. This is a moment of reckoning in the Indian politics. The 2024 verdict was a warning to the top BJP brass. The 2026 is telling: come out of the comforts of yes-men.

(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author’s own.)

‘Political Demonetisation’: Tharoor Warns Against Delimitation Push

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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