Women Reservation Bill Fails In Lok Sabha, Doesn't Get Two-Thirds Majority

The bill to amend the Women's Reservation Bill failed to clear a key hurdle after the Centre could not secure the votes needed for its passage in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Centre needed a two-thirds majority to get the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed, but fell short of the mark. The proposed legislation saw 298 MPs voting in its favour and 230 voting against. Two other bills, including one for delimitation and increasing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, were not put to vote after the first one failed, with the Centre saying they were "intrinsically linked" to the legislation related to women's reservation. The Lok Sabha debate, which went on past midnight on Thursday and continued on Friday, saw the Centre making a forceful pitch for the reservation of 33% of seats in the Lower House of Parliament and state assemblies for women.