India, March 16 -- In September 2023, the Narendra Modi government convened a special session of Parliament to introduce the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam bill fulfilling the three-decade-old demand for a 33 percent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislatures. It became an act after the President signed off on it.

The Opposition was not satisfied because its implementation was linked to the first Census and the subsequent time-consuming delimitation of constituencies, which itself is proving to be a knotty affair considering protests from southern states who fear a loss of population-based representation in the Lok Sabha.

The opposition described the government's move as an 'election jumla' to appease women ahead of the 2024 ...