NDA steps up push for numbers ahead of delimitation Bill, Opposition closes ranks
With the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on July 20, the ruling Democratic Alliance and the Opposition Indian Developmental Inclusive Alliance are firming up strategies
With the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on July 20, the ruling Democratic Alliance and the Opposition Indian Developmental Inclusive Alliance are firming up strategies with regard to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill proposing to raise the number of Lok Sabha seats to 850 and initiate the delimitation process. The issue acquired a sense of urgency on Wednesday (July 15, 2026) as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, while leaders of both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai. Shinde expressed confidence that the government had the numbers to amend the Constitution. Amid speculation that NCP MPs of the Sharad Pawar faction may also switch sides, the party’s working president, Supriya Sule, clarified that her party had not taken any decision on supporting the delimitation Bill and media reports about her party’s stance were “inaccurate”. Earlier in the day, she was reported to have said that if the proposed delimitation Bill was based on a uniform 50% increase in seats across all States, “there would be little reason to oppose it”. The NDA government’s sustained effort to secure a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha to pass the Constitution amendment Bill gained momentum after 20 Lok Sabha members of the Trinamool Congress and six MPs of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) aligned themselves with the BJP-led NDA. NDA managers claim that the alliance’s strength in the Lok Sabha has risen from 298 in April to 329, though it remains short of the two-thirds majority mark of 362. The Congress’ parliamentary strategy group is scheduled to meet on Thursday morning, but sources said the party’s top leadership is upset that the government is trying to secure a two-thirds majority through the “defection route”.
“The Home Minister will not get the two-thirds majority he is desperate for in the Lok Sabha. After his humiliation on April 17, he will suffer a second defeat if he persists,” Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh told The Hindu. BJP steps up outreach to INDIA bloc The BJP has, meanwhile, stepped up its outreach to parties in the INDIA bloc in an effort to secure the numbers required to pass the Constitution amendment Bill, which also forms the basis for implementing women’s reservation from the 2029 Lok Sabha election. According to BJP leaders and government sources, the political realignment following the recent Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu has opened fresh channels of communication with Opposition parties. Sources said the BJP has also reopened talks with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after its break with the Congress, while assuring the party that its concerns over delimitation would be addressed. The government is also hopeful that some Opposition parties may soften their stand if the proposed legislation provides for a uniform 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats across all States. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, in a post on X on Tuesday, had said that the government was trying to woo both the DMK and the NCP(SP). “NCP(SP) and DMK have been clear-headed about the real purpose of the failed Bill and it is expected that they will stand firm in the future too. Any support to a new version of the failed Bill — whose real purpose is delimitation — will be a betrayal of their own conscience that guided them in April 2026,” Mr. Chidambaram had said. Speculation of supporting the Bill Against this backdrop, Ms. Sule’s comments that there would be “little reason to oppose” a proposal based on a uniform 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats across all States fuelled speculation that the NCP (SP) could support the Bill.
The BriefWire