Summary
An op-ed in The Hindu by policy researchers Mehul Chhabra and Atharva Deshmukh argues that expanding the Lok Sabha through delimitation must be paired with reforms that guarantee Parliament's working time. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, introduced in April, proposed raising Lok Sabha strength from 550 to 850 but were defeated on 17 April 2026.
The authors point to stark disparities in constituency size, from 37.8 lakh voters in Malkajgiri to 57,953 in Lakshadweep. They warn that with fixed limits on daily questions and a Question Hour that ran for just nine minutes in the 2026 Monsoon Session, more MPs would mean less voice for each.
They propose a statutory minimum of sitting days, citing the NCRWC's recommendation of 120 days a year and protected time for Question Hour and Zero Hour.
WHY IT MATTERS FOR UPSC & STATE PCS
As debate over delimitation and Lok Sabha expansion continues after the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in April 2026, an op-ed in The Hindu on 19 October 2026 argued that any expansion must be matched by guaranteed sitting days and protected accountability time.
Standard News
A Bigger Lok Sabha Is
Only as Good as the Time It Gets to Speak Representation has two halves. One is the voter's access to an MP
- how many people one member must answer to. The other is the MP's access to the floor
- how much time each member actually gets to question, debate and hold the government to account. The delimitation debate has focused almost entirely on the first half.
The case for a bigger House The disparity is real and indefensible.
An MP from Malkajgiri in Telangana represents 37.8 lakh voters; an MP from Lakshadweep represents 57,953. The average constituency, with India's 97.98 crore electors spread across 543 seats, holds about 18 lakh people.
Seat allocation has been frozen since 1976, extended by the 84th Amendment (2001) until the first census after 2026. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposed lifting the cap from 550 to 850. It was defeated on 17 April 2026, but the pressure for expansion has not gone away.
Supporters argue that smaller constituencies mean better constituency service. They add that real scrutiny happens in Department-Related Standing Committees, not just on the floor - so a larger House could divide its work across more committees.
The case for fixing the floor first The floor is already failing.
Lok Sabha rules allow at most 20 starred questions
- those answered orally by ministers, with follow-ups - each sitting day. That number does not grow with the House.
- With 543 MPs, each member's chance of an oral ministerial answer is already slim.
- With 850 MPs and the same limit, it falls by more than a third. And even the existing slots are not being used. Question Hour ran for 60% of its scheduled time in the 17th Lok Sabha and just nine minutes
- 1%
- in the 2026 Monsoon Session. Zero Hour, where members raise urgent local issues such as crop failures or disaster relief and Private Members' Business would be squeezed further. Article 85(1) only says that six months must not pass between sessions. It sets no minimum number of working days.
Where this leaves us TAN's position is that delimitation should go ahead only together with guaranteed working time. Concretely:
- a statutory minimum of sitting days, building on the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution's recommendation of 120 days a year for the Lok Sabha; - fixed, protected time for Question Hour and Zero Hour that cannot be suspended at will. The case for equal representation is strong; no voter in Malkajgiri should count for less. But a seat without a voice corrects the arithmetic of democracy while weakening its substance.
Quick Facts
Key numbers & takeaways — revise these first
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Article 81 caps the Lok Sabha's elected strength at 550; it currently has 543 constituencies.
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The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposed raising the cap to 850; it was defeated on 17 April 2026 (298 in favour, 230 against).
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The 84th Amendment, 2001 froze seat allocation until the first census after 2026.
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India had 97.98 crore electors in 2024, about 18 lakh per constituency on average.
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Malkajgiri in Telangana has 37.8 lakh voters; Lakshadweep has 57,953.
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Lok Sabha rules allow up to 20 starred questions for oral answer and 230 unstarred questions a day.
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Question Hour functioned for 60% of scheduled time in the 17th Lok Sabha.
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It functioned for 1% of scheduled time - nine minutes - in the 2026 Monsoon Session.
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Article 85(1) bars a gap of more than six months between sessions.
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The NCRWC (2002) recommended at least 120 sitting days a year for the Lok Sabha.
Connect the dots for your UPSC preparation.
Standard news covers the event. Log in to read our comprehensive analysis and uncover the hidden constitutional, structural, and ethical dimensions of this topic:
The full case for expanding the Lok Sabha - including the committee-based model of scrutiny - built at its strongest, not as a straw man.
The arithmetic of floor time: how each MP's chance of an oral ministerial answer shrinks as the House grows while rules stay fixed.
TAN's specific reform package - a statutory sitting minimum and protected Question and Zero Hour - and why we weighed the arguments this way.
The single piece of evidence that would change our position.
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