New Delhi, April 18 -- A Constitution amendment bill to expand the size of the Lok Sabha and fast-track 33% reservation for women failed to garner the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on Friday, marking the first defeat of a government bill since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power in 2014. The 131st Constitution amendment bill - which sought to raise the Lok Sabha ceiling to 850 and implement 33% reservation for women in time for the 2029 polls - was defeated by a united Opposition that didn't waiver despite a dramatic last-minute offer by Union home minister Amit Shah to incorporate a 50% proportional rise for all states into the bill. The final tally in the Lok Sabha was 298-230, indicating that both camps garnered their maximum strength. The Opposition needed a minimum of 181 votes to defeat the bill. "The Constitution (131st Amendment) Amendment Bill did not pass as it did not achieve a 2/3 majority during voting in the House," Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said. The government withdrew two other linked bills - one mandating delimitation on the basis of the latest available census, effectively the 2011 one, and another implementing the changes in Union Territories - shortly afterwards. To be sure, the 2023 women's reservation act still stands and was notified by the government in the gazette on Thursday night. If the law is to be implemented, the government will still have to bring a delimitation bill, as the 2023 act links the quota to the delimitation exercise. Ruling alliance members hit the streets in protest against the bill's defeat, terming the Opposition anti-women. "The Congress, TMC, DMK, and Samajwadi Party did not allow the passage of the essential Constitution Amendment Bill for the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. Rejecting the bill that would grant 33% reservation to women, celebrating it, and raising victory cries over it is truly reprehensible and beyond imagination," Shah said on X. "I want to tell them that this insult to Nari Shakti will not stop here; it will travel far and wide. The opposition will have to face the 'wrath of women' not only in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, but at every level, in every election, and at every place," he added. The Opposition rejected this allegation, saying it favoured women's reservation but opposed the question of delimitation, and questioned the government's timing and intent. "We have defeated this attack on the Constitution. We have clearly said that this is not a women's reservation bill, but it is a way to change India's political structure," said Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. "The bill that came against Tamil Nadu has been defeated in Parliament is the news we got now. This victory is just a trailer," said Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin. This is the first time a constitution amendment bill failed to get the required strength in the Lok Sabha since 2011, when a bill to give the Lokpal constitutional status was defeated. The NDA called a meeting of all lawmakers on Friday night. A cabinet meeting is scheduled for Saturday. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are also set to reconvene on Saturday morning, the last day of the three day special sitting. Reserving a third of seats in legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha has been a contentious issue dating back to the Constituent Assembly debates. Previous attempts to pass the bill were repeatedly thwarted in the 1990s and 2000s as regional parties opposed the move. In 2010, the bill passed the Rajya Sabha but was stalled in the Lok Sabha. Finally, in 2023, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam passed with near-unanimity in Parliament, mandating that 33% reservation for women will be rolled out based on a fresh census and delimitation. But last week, the government introduced three bills aimed at delinking the implementation of the women's quota from a census and delimitation. The government's legislative push involved raising the cap on seats in the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850, with the allocation of seats to states, the reserved constituencies and their boundaries being defined by a delimitation commission on the basis of the latest census, which would mean the 2011 one in this case. On the first day of the discussion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Opposition that the proportion of each state's seat-share would not be disturbed. But the Opposition remained unconvinced, pointing out, accurately, that the government's assurances were verbal and not mentioned in the text of the bills. They also raised questions about the Centre's intent on the caste census, the timing of the special sitting - in the middle of the election campaign in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal later this month - and asked why women's reservation couldn't be implemented with the current strength of the Lok Sabha. On Friday during his speech, Shah attempted to turn the tables on the Opposition, offering to bring an official amendment mentioning a 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats in return for support for the women's reservation bill. "If I return to the House in an hour with a revised copy of the bill carrying the 50% guarantee, will you support the bill?" he asked. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav rebuffed him, saying the Opposition didn't trust the government. After the bill failed in the Lower House, NDA members chanted slogans condemning the Opposition. Women members of the NDA held a separate protest in the Parliament premises, holding placards and chanting slogans of "sharam karo [be ashamed]" against the Opposition. Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju condemned the Opposition. "The verdict that has come on this historical and important bill, which gives representation and respect to women, and it has not been supported by the opposition. This is very unfortunate. They have lost a chance. The resolution to provide respect and rights to women under PM Modi's leadership will continue, and we will provide it," he said. But the Opposition claimed victory, pointing out that the government didn't hold any consultations, didn't provide guarantees and conducted a parliamentary sitting in the middle of an election campaign. They also accused the Centre of trying to rob backward classes and Dalits of their rights, arguing that women's quota should be implemented after the caste census. "This was not about women's reservation but democracy. We can never agree to linking delimitation with women's reservation. It was not possible that this bill would pass. This is a big win for democracy in our country," Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said. "The bill was defeated because of the way the government linked women's reservation to delimitation and (an) earlier census." A Friday morning phone call by Rahul to Trinamool floor leader Abhishek Banerjee boosted Opposition attendance, with Trinamool Congress sending 21 MPs to the House, people aware of the matter said. Opposition unity, aided by SP support, thwarted the government's bid despite last-minute assurances on delimitation, they added....