Women’s reservation: How numbers stack up in Parliament
While the House grants permission for the introduction of the Bill by a simple majority of those present and voting, the numbers opposing the introduction show the actual strength of the opposition in the House.
Lok Sabha is discussing Delimitation Bill and Women Reservation Bill today. (Fiel Photo) By demanding for a division of votes to ascertain whether the Lok Sabha approves of the introduction of three Bills aiming at advancing women’s reservation to 2029, the opposition has sought to test the waters in terms of how the numbers on both sides stack up.
While the House grants permission for the introduction of the Bill by a simple majority of those present and voting, the numbers opposing the introduction show the actual strength of the opposition in the House. This is important because when the Constitutional (131st) Amendment Bill is put to vote, the government will require a special majority – meaning two-thirds of those present and voting, which should not be less than one half of the strength of the House. A constitutional amendment Bill has to be passed by both the Houses separately with such special majorities.
How numbers stack up
Women's Reservation Bill: Do numbers add up? | Lok Sabha
Any Constitutional amendment will require 360 votes in the Lok Sabha, if all present members turn up. The BJP, at 240, has the highest number of seats. The NDA’s total seat tally is 293, excluding seven independent MPs. The non-NDA, of which the Congress with its 98 members is the largest party, has 241 members.
The present strength of the ruling NDA in the Rajya Sabha is as follows – BJP 106, TDP 2, JD (U) 4, Shiv Sena 2, RLD 1, JD (S) 1, AGP 1, NCP 4, AIADMK 5, RPI (Athawale) 1, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (Upendra Kushwaha’s party) 1, United People’s Party (Liberal) 2, apart from 7 nominated members who haven’t yet joined the BJP, independent Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma, and one each from the MNF, NPP and PMK. This adds up to 145. Five nominated members who joined the BJP have already been counted in the BJP’s tally of 106.
Women's Reservation Bill: Do numbers add up? | Rajya Sabha
In the case of parties that can take a line against the BJP, the Congress has gone up from 27 to 29 members, the TMC has 13, the AAP 10, the BJD 6, the Samajwadi Party 4, the NC 3, the BRS 3, the DMK 8, the Shiv Sena (UBT) 1, the NSP (SP) 1, the CPI (M) 3, the RJD 3, the JMM 2, the IUML 2, the CPI 2, the MDMK 1, the Kerala Congress (M) 1, the BSP 1, and the DMDK 1.
Share
