A special session of India's Parliament beginning on April 16 is expected to discuss a constitutional amendment that would increase the size of the lower house from 543 to 850 members, Bloomberg reported on April 15. To pass the constitutional amendment, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, needs a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which it cannot secure on its own and will require the support of its allies in the National Democratic Alliance, or NDA.

The government is proposing these changes now because India's parliamentary representation is still based on outdated population data frozen since the 1970s. Rather than waiting for a delayed new census, the government has introduced legislation to use the 2011 census data to enable a fresh delimitation of seats. It is also tied to implementing the 2023 women's reservation law, which reserves one-third of seats for women but can only take effect after delimitation is completed. By linking these reforms, the government is aiming to update representation and unlock long-delayed constitutional changes in one coordinated process.