Days after both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on August 13, 2026, the monsoon session has yet to be formally prorogued. The delay has prompted speculation that Parliament could be reconvened for another attempt at the constitutional amendment linked to delimitation and women’s reservation. Whether or not that happens, it gives urgency to a question Parliament must confront: must delimitation necessarily mean an enlargement of the Lok Sabha?

At first glance, the issue looks like arithmetic. India’s population has grown enormously since Lok Sabha seats were frozen half a century ago, so it seems natural to argue that representation must now expand correspondingly. But, constitutional design is not arithmetic alone.