In New Delhi, a constitutional amendment bill — part of a broader delimitation package and tied to women’s reservation quotas — was defeated in the Lok Sabha after failing to reach the required two-thirds majority. The bill received 298 votes in favor against 230 opposed, falling short of the 352-vote threshold needed among the 528 members present.
The defeat was immediately claimed as a victory by the united opposition. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge declared that the opposition had “defeated a bid to harm the Constitution,” while CPI general secretary D. Raja called it “a decisive setback for the Modi government’s attempt to redraw India’s political map under the guise of women’s reservation.”
The ruling BJP countered that opposition leaders had “conspired to defeat women.” Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut offered a more nuanced explanation, telling The Hindu that his party opposed the bill because “the BJP draped a pink saree on the delimitation bill” — suggesting the women’s quota provision was being used as political cover for a more contentious redistricting agenda. The fallout promises to shape Indian politics in the weeks ahead, particularly in states like Telangana, where Chief Minister Revanth Reddy called the vote “a red-letter day.”
