Earlier, the government sought to strategise how to get the Bill carried, but decided to go ahead with voting after failing to convince the opposition, which had united against the Bill on Wednesday itself. (PTI Photo/Sansad TV)The Lok Sabha defeated the Constitutional (131st Amendment) Bill 2026 to advance 33-% women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies on Friday evening with 298 votes for it and 230 votes against it, after a marathon two-day debate in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah warned the opposition that women of the country would watch their intent closely, and the opposition accused the government of pushing for delimitation to redraw the electoral map and harm southern states in the garb of women’s reservation.Since the two other Bills were interrelated with the constitutional amendment bill, the other two Bills would not be taken up, said Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju after the Constitutional (131st Amendment) Bill 2026 was defeated.This is the first time in 12 years that a constitutional amendment bill introduced by the Modi government has fallen.One of the three Bills the government had piloted – the Constitutional (131st Amendment ) Bill 2026 – being a constitutional amendment Bill, it required a special majority of both Houses to get passed – meaning two-thirds of those present and voting, which should not be less than one half of the total strength of the House. With the Lok Sabha right now having 540, the Bill required 360 seats to pass at full strength of the House.Also Read | Rahul Gandhi on quota Bills: ‘Govt redrawing electoral map while hiding behind women’Earlier, replying to the debate on the three Bills, Shah accused the opposition of making excuses with the intent of blocking women’s reservation.Hours before this, PM Modi wrote on X, “…-The Government has addressed all apprehensions and misconceptions relating to the legislation with facts and logic. All concerns have been addressed and any gaps in information have also been filled. For nearly four decades, this issue of women’s reservation in legislative bodies has been inordinately delayed. Now is the time to ensure that half of the nation’s population receives its rightful due in decision making..”He added, “I urge and appeal to all political parties to reflect carefully and take a sensitive decision by voting in favour of women’s reservation. On behalf of our Nari Shakti, I also request all members not to do anything that may hurt the sentiments of women across India. Crores of women are watching us…our intent and our decisions.”Story continues below this adEarlier, the government sought to strategise how to get the Bill carried, but decided to go ahead with voting after failing to convince the opposition, which had united against the Bill on Wednesday itself.Sources said attempts were made to reach out to the Samajwadi Party and some other Opposition parties during the day in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the Bills, but the attempts were learnt to have been unsuccessful.A meeting of key BJP leaders and ministers was also held by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament to deliberate on the strategy. “We don’t have the numbers. Let the Opposition defeat the Bills. They will have to answer to the people,” said a senior BJP leader.Another minister, holding a Cabinet portfolio, said the party was planning to “go to the people” by 6 pm.Story continues below this adIndicating the possible strategy, an NDA leader said the idea was to let the Bills be defeated and then project itself as a “martyr” in the cause of women’s rights.“The Opposition appears united. They do not want to let the Bills pass. In such a situation, we have no option but to become martyrs. As of now, there is no indication of the Bills being withdrawn. That would kind of look bad. The defeat of the Bills can be weaponised politically against the Opposition,” the leader said.A senior Opposition leader confirmed that overtures were made to some parties, but the Opposition stands united. “It has been decided that the delimitation needs to be deferred. So there is no question of agreeing to these Bills even if the promise of proportionality and pro-rata distribution of increased seats among states (in the Delimitation Bill) is believed and accepted. We know why they want delimitation,” said a senior leader from the Opposition.Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Indian parliament