Never in the history of India, such important legislative business of Parliament with so much of far-reaching consequences has been taken up in a full-swing election season.
Important rounds of polling are to be held on April 23 and 29 in West Bengal and only April 23rd in Tamil Nadu.
But Parliament session of three days from April 16th will be pathbreaking.
The Modi government has decided to bring in at least two Bills - one on Women Quota and the other on setting up of Delimitation Commission. Left to it, the government would have preferred only one Bill. But that may not be possible technically.
It may not be entirely erroneous to suggest that we are living in an era of -- Great Events and Small Men. Winston Churchill referred to the times of Lord Roseberry as an 'age of Great Men and Small Events'. Narendra Modi wants to turn it all.
He wants India to enter an era of Great Events and Great Men .... but also Greater Women. His preference of catchy phrases - Sabka Saath .... and 'Modi Hae Toh Mumkin Hae' has now scaled news heights. Increasing the number of state assembly seats and MPs in Lok Sabha will have far-reaching socio-political and perhaps also cultural and religious impact. Take this figure alone:
If Lok Sabha numbers are to be 816 as many as 273 of them would be reserved for women.
Indian Parliament now has 13 per cent of women MPs while state assemblies make it up to 9 per cent in total.
By statistics; Himachal Pradesh has the lowest share of representation - 1.47 percent while the Chhattisgarh has the highest with 21.11 per cent.
In the north east, out of total 60 legislators; Nagaland has two women MLAs elected for the first time in 2023.
Mizoram has ....
One draft law that is being worked out --- is to 'delink' Women Reservation from the Census. Here the idea is quite innovative but not entirely a new one. The moot point is increase the number of women lawmakers but without disturbing the present equilibrium.
No quota will eat into anyone's share. In fact, the argument goes the same yardstick was applied when 10 per cent quota for 'economically weaker sections' was brought in.
The opposition parties say the Modi government has come up with these moves to build up a feel-good factor as the Iran-US war has already left economy and people's personal and social lives affected.
Now the talks in Islamabad failed and things may turn worse. The opposition leaders in TMC, Congress. Samajwadi Party and DMK say the move is to hoodwink the people, influence their choice in politically important two states of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and 'divert' the attention from the West Asia crisis or issues such as joblessness and gas shortage.
The government counters such interpretation. They cite how Prime Minister Modi had in 2021 famously used this in his Independence Day speech to motivate the nation towards a "can-do" mindset. However, as a political creature Modi is expected to play politics.
Elections come and go, but the BJP gets into the next round of poll mode rather swiftly. With the ongoing polls to five states half concluded, the Team Modi is preparing for the elections to UP and four other states slated a year hence in February-March 2027. There would be more polls in 2028 but the Mission Nari Shakti bills get parliament nod by April 18; entire drama related to 2027 elections will also alter.
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UP is supposed to get 120 Lok Sabha seats and also around 650-700 state legislators.
Hence crucial rounds of politicking will be kicked off in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and also Manipur.
Moreover, Modi's politics has always followed a pattern. Projecting 'matri shakti', women's power, has been the Prime Minister's mission across India and also in the Northeast.
In 2021, in the run-up to the Manipur polls, the BJP had appointed the first woman president of the state unit in A Sharda Devi. In the ultimate analysis, the saffron party believes the appointment worked in the party's favour.
In 2025, in Delhi, he green signaled appointment of Rekha Gupta as the chief minister of Delhi.
Likewise in Tripura, the BJP had projected woman lawmaker Pratima Bhaumik and made her Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment in the Modi government. She actually became the first Tripura resident and only the second woman from the Northeast to be a Union Minister. Ms Bhaumik was also involved in the Manipur polls of 2022.
Mizoram : A Case Study::::
In another tribal state Mizoram with high rate of education, the social opposition to women getting the upper hand is vocal.
In 2011, the Congress-ruled Mizoram government, under veteran leader Lal Thanhawla, had opposed the food security bill of the Manmohan Singh government.
He even wrote a letter to Union Food Minister K V Thomas opposing the Bill, which had sought to make women the head of the family in ration cards.
Addressing a workshop of Mizoram legislators in 2009, the first female speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, had underlined that it was high time for the state to have women MLAs.
Mizoram had its first female state legislator in 1984 when it was still a Union Territory. K Thansiami was elected on a Mizoram People's Conference ticket. But not much progress has been made since then.
ends
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