Fadnavis Says Census Delay Forced Quota Timeline Shift

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the delay in conducting the census disrupted the delimitation schedule, necessitating amendments to ensure the timely implementation of the women's reservation law.

He stated that women's reservation will now take effect in the general elections of 2029 while speaking at a gathering to discuss the proposed Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

In order to implement the Women's Reservation Act before the 2029 parliamentary elections and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 with 273 reserved for women, a special three-day session of Parliament will be held from April 16 to 18 to discuss an amendment to the Adhiniyam along with two other bills.

"As everyone knows, the census process was delayed, and because of this, the delimitation schedule was also disturbed. In such a situation, women's reservation could have been delayed to 2034 or even 2039. Had there been no political will, the delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic could have been cited to postpone implementation indefinitely," Fadnavis said.

"It has now been decided that delimitation will be completed within a year, and the 2011 census figures will be used so that there is no need to wait for the current census to conclude. Because of these changes, women's reservation will come into effect in the 2029 general elections and not be pushed further," he added.

He alleged that some opposition parties were resisting delimitation despite claiming to support the reservation law.

"They say they are not opposing the women's reservation bill but are opposing delimitation. They know that if delimitation is not implemented, then women's reservation cannot be implemented. Such people are, in fact, opposing women's representation," Fadnavis said.

The chief minister stated that the impact of the reservation policy would be evident starting with the 2029 general elections and expressed confidence that the changes would greatly increase the representation of women in Parliament and state legislatures.

"Although the reservation bill offers a 33 per cent quota, you mark my words, nearly 40 per cent of the strength in the next Lok Sabha will be of women. Their voices will gain momentum," he said.

Additionally, according to Fadnavis, there were competent female officers in the state government, but they were not given the chance to advance.