New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Friday (April 10, 2026) discussed the government move to carry out the delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2011 census and operationalise the women’s reservation law. It then announced that the party will formulate a joint strategy for the special session of Parliament after consulting other Opposition parties.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will convene a meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on April 15, a day before the three-day special session begins to amend the women’s reservation law so that it can be implemented by the 2029 Lok Sabha election and increase the strength of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies by 50%.
In his opening speech to the CWC, Mr. Kharge said the proposed changes will have “serious consequences” and will “seriously impact” the electoral system.
It [the government] wants to increase the Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816. There will be an increase in the same proportion in the legislative Assemblies. This delimitation proposal will have serious consequences. Therefore, there is need for a deep discussion on delimitation,” Mr. Kharge told his colleagues.
At the closed-door meeting, sources said, discussions centred around evolving a strategy that makes it clear that the Congress supports the immediate implementation of women’s reservation law, but wants wider consultation for the delimitation exercise.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who joined the meeting online, said the party cannot be seen opposing the immediate implementation of women’s reservation, while Rahul Gandhi asserted that the delimitation will necessarily lead to a talk of a North-South divide. This point was amplified by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
MP Manish Tewari is said to have argued that instead of fixing a predetermined number like 50%, the strength of legislature should be fixed post census. Seats can then be reserved for women on the current strength of 543 members.
Party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is said to have argued that it was important to understand the government’s larger plan behind the move.
Addressing a press conference, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh retierated the party’s demand for an all-party meeting after the ongoing Assembly elections get over on April 29.
“It [delimitation] will have far-reaching consequences,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “The issue is not women’s reservation. This is the Prime Minister’s game. He owes an apology to the women of the country for disregarding the Congress suggestion of implementing the law in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.”
During the internal deliberations, party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, who joined the meet online, and another leader K. Raju said the government wants to “thwart” proportional representation to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), whose accurate numbers would be known after the caste census. They argued that the government wants to avoid implementing caste data in reservation as that could help Rahul Gandhi in the 2029 polls since he has been championing caste census.
