Gujarat seats may rise to 39 in LS, 273 in Assembly as delimitation, women’s quota loom

Gujarat’s electoral landscape could see a major overhaul ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, with the Centre moving to implement fresh delimitation alongside the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023. If both are enforced, the state’s Lok Sabha seats may rise from 26 to 39, while Assembly seats could increase from 182 to 273, according to informed sources.

The proposed changes would entail redrawing constituency boundaries, creating new seats, and dissolving some existing ones, significantly altering long-standing political equations.

Seat expansion and reservation push

Sources indicate that the planned exercise could add 13 Lok Sabha seats and 90 Assembly seats in Gujarat. Alongside expansion, the Women’s Reservation Act mandates that one-third (33%) of seats be reserved for women.

If implemented in its current form, this would translate to roughly 13 Lok Sabha seats and about 91 Assembly seats in Gujarat being reserved for women.

The changes would also affect the distribution of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), though specific numbers are yet to be detailed.

Major cities set for boundary changes

Urban centres such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot are expected to witness significant constituency reshaping due to delimitation and reservation adjustments.

These changes are likely to increase women’s political representation while simultaneously redrawing caste and community equations across constituencies.

Rajya Sabha strength may also change

Gujarat currently has 11 Rajya Sabha seats. With a rise in Assembly strength, the state’s representation in the Upper House may also increase, though no official figures have been indicated.

Existing constituencies and possible churn

At present, Gujarat’s Lok Sabha constituencies include Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Amreli, Anand, Banaskantha, Bardoli, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Chhota Udaipur, Dahod, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kheda, Kutch, Mehsana, Navsari, Panchmahal, Patan, Porbandar, Rajkot, Sabarkantha, Surat, Surendranagar, Vadodara, Valsad.

Delimitation could lead to extensive reconfiguration across this map, with some constituencies being merged, split or newly carved out.

Background: Women’s reservation law

The Women’s Reservation Act was passed during a special session of Parliament in September 2023 with near-unanimous support—454 votes in favour and two against in the Lok Sabha, and 214 in favour with none against in the Rajya Sabha.

The law provides for 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies and the Delhi Assembly. It was initially slated for implementation after delimitation, but there are indications the government is considering advancing its roll-out, a move that could disrupt existing political calculations.

A rare expansion after decades

Gujarat’s Assembly strength has seen periodic increases since the state’s formation:

1960: 132 seats

1962: 154 seats

1967: 168 seats

1975: 182 seats

After nearly five decades, the proposed jump to 273 seats would mark the most significant expansion in the state’s legislative history.

Political reset likely

The twin exercise of delimitation and reservation is expected to force political parties to recalibrate strategies, reassess caste and community alignments, and adapt to new geographic realities.

With constituency boundaries set to shift and a substantial share of seats reserved for women, parties may have to rebuild candidate pipelines and rethink electoral arithmetic from the ground up.