India, April 18 -- The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2026 - the Narendra Modi government's proposed amendment to the 2023 women's reservation law - was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday evening after failing to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass such a constitutional change. It is the first defeat of a government bill since the BJP-led NDA with Modi as PM came to power in 2014, and the first time a constitutional amendment bill has failed in the Lok Sabha since 2011.

The bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against. Of the 528 members who voted, the bill needed 352 - two-thirds - to pass. It fell 54 votes short.

Following the defeat, the government withdrew the two other bills introduced alongside it: the Delim...