Women's quota bill to be put to vote. How numbers stack up in Parliament

After a marathon debate on three bills to provide 33% women's reservation in Parliament and state assemblies, these will be put to a vote on Friday. For over 30 hours, the Lok Sabha witnessed a furious showdown between the NDA and the opposition over the Centre's move to link the Women's Reservation Bill to the delimitation exercise. Before the voting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a last-ditch appeal to the opposition to pass the legislation, as the ruling NDA doesn't have the numbers to get constitutional amendment bills passed on its own.

To provide women's reservation in Parliament by 2029, the government tabled three bills - the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023; a Delimitation Bill to redraw parliamentary constituencies; and a third bill to extend the quota to Union Territories.

The constitutional bill also provides for amending Article 81 to lay down that the Lok Sabha shall not exceed 850 members. Presently, the strength of the Lok Sabha is 543 MPs.

The BJP is well aware it doesn't have the numbers to get the Women's Reservation Bill passed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted at it during his speech on Thursday. "Numbers ka game samay tay karega" (time will decide the numbers issue), PM Modi said.

It was the reason why the Prime Minister threw a direct challenge at the opposition - kill the bill and risk facing the wrath of women voters. Elections are already on in four states.

HOW DO NUMBERS STACK UP IN PARLIAMENT?

Constitutional amendment bills like the one on women's reservation require a special majority of two-thirds of those present and voting to be passed. Those present should not be less than one-half of the strength of the House.

Presently, there are 540 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Three seats are vacant. In this case, the two-thirds mark stands at 360. It means that for the bill to clear the Lok Sabha, 360 MPs need to vote in its favour.

This is where the NDA falls short and requires the help of the Congress or other INDIA bloc parties to get the bill passed.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA won 293 seats. It is 67 short of the two-thirds requirement. While abstentions by opposition MPs can bring down the required number, the gap is too large.

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