Kharge tells Modi to freeze the Lok Sabha at 543 for 25 years
The Congress president wrote after Kiren Rijiju did not rule out a special session on delimitation. He wants an all-party meeting, the present state-wise seat map held until 2051, and one-third seats for women from 2029 inside the current House. In April the government failed to pass an 850-seat amendment.
New Delhi2 min read
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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asking the government to convene an all-party meeting before any special session on delimitation. He set out three demands: keep the Lok Sabha at 543 seats for another 25 years, keep the present state-wise allocation for the same period, and introduce one-third reservation for women from the 2029 general election inside that House.
The letter followed a television interview in which Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju did not rule out a special sitting. Kharge said that remark may explain why the monsoon session has not been prorogued. He reminded Modi of a 16 July letter that made the same request for time to study any draft.
“Please do not again try and bulldoze as you attempted on April 16 and 17, 2026,” he wrote. On those dates the government brought a constitutional amendment that would have raised the Lok Sabha to 850 seats and tied women’s reservation to the new map. A united opposition blocked it, the first such failure for a constitutional amendment in 12 years of this government.
What the three points actually do
A 25-year freeze at 543 would push the next change of seat numbers to the early 2050s. Southern states that have lower fertility than Uttar Pradesh and Bihar would keep their present share. A larger House drawn from the next census would shift weight north. That is why Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have treated delimitation as a federal fight, not a technical exercise.
Women’s reservation is already law, but it is timed to follow a census and a delimitation. Kharge wants the one-third quota carved out of 543 in 2029, which would mean about 181 reserved seats without adding new constituencies. That is the opposition bargain offered since April: accept the quota, refuse the expansion.
Rijiju has not published a draft. No official text lists 850 or any other number as current government policy. The April bill is the last concrete proposal on record. Kharge is writing against that text and against the possibility of a short-notice session.
The calendar underneath the letter
The monsoon session has ended its sitting days but has not been formally prorogued. A house that is only adjourned can be called back more quickly than one that has been prorogued and must be summoned afresh. That is the procedural fact Kharge is pointing at. An all-party meeting would not bind the government. It would force every regional party to say in one room whether it will defend the 543 map.
Delimitation after the next census is required if Parliament wants the House to track population again. The last freeze was extended to 2026 by a 2002 amendment. That clock is the reason the subject is live this year. Kharge’s letter does not stop a session. It sets the price the Congress will demand if one is called: time, a shared draft, and no repeat of April’s 850-seat text.
