The central government is already engaging with the Opposition parties in crafting consensus to decouple the performance of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam with the terms of census and delimitation. Law, the 128 th Constitution amendment act, gives one-third quota to women in Parliament and state assemblies.
Sources have indicated that Amit Shah has recently been meeting leaders of various parties such as the Biju Janata Dal, YSR congress party, Nationalist congress party and Sharad Pawar wing of the Shiv Sena, AIMIM to discuss the proposed changes. This relocation is in the face of an increasing political pressure to effect the reservation without further delimitation and census exercises.
Assuming the amendment passes, such a reservation of women may be implemented before some of the most important state elections, such as the 2027 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. There is also the idea that the officials are considering the option of having a lottery-like system where the selected constituencies will be reserved to women candidates.
Other opposition groups like the Indian National Congress, Trinamool Congress, and DMK have highly demanded its implementation, as they claim that by tying the law with delimitation, they are retarding the effects of this law. Rahul Gandhi has also been critical of the intention of the government and he says that extension of the roll out will sabotage the intention to empower women in the political arena.
The amendment will be brought to Parliament at this time of the budgetary session, which ends April 2, and this could usher in a significant electoral reform.