India moves toward simultaneous elections, delimitation and women’s reservation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is preparing a series of constitutional and electoral reforms aimed at the 2029 general election. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is pushing a “One Nation, One Election” model that would hold Lok Sabha and state assembly polls together, reviving the long‑stalled delimitation exercise and introducing a one‑third reservation for women in both houses of Parliament and state legislatures. The proposals are slated for discussion in the upcoming Parliament monsoon session, with the party seeking broader political consultation before introducing legislation.

The women’s reservation component stems from the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act passed in 2023, which linked implementation to the next census and delimitation. Although the census is currently underway, the BJP has signaled willingness to use the 2011 Census data to speed up the reservation, drawing criticism that it may misalign representation with demographic realities. Opposition parties and women’s groups caution that the combined reforms could reshape constituency boundaries and political power structures ahead of the 2029 elections.