Politics

India Delimitation Freeze: Lok Sabha Seat History 1952-2026

Each state's number of Lok Sabha seats has been frozen on the 1971 Census since the 42nd Amendment of 1976, extended by the 84th Amendment until the first cens…

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THE RULE

Seats follow population

Articles 81 and 82 gave each state Lok Sabha seats in proportion to its population, readjusted after every census.

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THREE REDRAWS

489 to 543 seats

Commissions redistributed seats on the 1951, 1961 and 1971 censuses. The House grew from 489 seats in 1952 to 543 by 1977.

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THE FREEZE

Shares locked on 1971

So states that slowed population growth would not lose seats. Seat totals were frozen on the 1971 Census until the first census after 2000.

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EXTENDED

Frozen until after 2026

It extended the freeze to the first census after 2026, but allowed constituency boundaries inside states to be redrawn.

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NEW LINES

Boundaries redrawn on 2001

Yes. The Kuldip Singh commission redrew constituencies on 2001 figures. Every state kept the same number of seats.

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WOMEN'S QUOTA

Tied to delimitation

One-third of seats are reserved for women, but only after a delimitation based on the first census after the law comes into force.

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DEFEATED

850-seat plan falls short

The 131st Amendment Bill, for an 850-seat House on 2011 figures, got 298 votes to 230, short of the 352 needed.

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WHAT NEXT

Census 2027 and a new push

Census 2027 counts people in February 2027. Reports on 16 October said the Centre was weighing a special session to try again.

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