Mumbai:
Is Sharad Pawar’s NCP warming up to the Centre on the contentious delimitation bill that was defeated in Parliament in April after the government failed to muster two-thirds majority support?
Party MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule on Wednesday hinted that NCP (SP) may support the bill if the government introduces a significant amendment to increase Lok Sabha and Assembly seats across states by 50 percent.
“Give the 50 percent condition on paper, then we will discuss,” Sule said at a press conference.
Sule also revealed that she attended an all-party meeting called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to discuss the bill, which was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
She claimed the government has a proposal to include the 50% cap in the bill.
“The bill is still not with us. I can’t speak on the bill unless it is with us,” she said.
Read | Late-Night Meeting Fuels Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar NCP Camp Realignment Buzz
“We’ll study the bill when it comes and give our verdict. The women’s reservation bill was passed unanimously. Kiren Rijiju called me, Arvind Sawant (Sena UBT) and Asaduddin Owaisi. Amit Shah was also there. They told us that they have also spoken to SP, Congress and DMK. They have a proposal in mind.”
Sule said if delimitation is based only on population, it could result in injustice to southern states.
“A proposal for a 50 percent formula for every state was put forward by Amit Shah and Kiren Rijiju,” she added.
Sule’s clarification came amid growing speculation that NCP (SP) is likely to join the NDA and support the delimitation bill in Parliament.
Ruling out any switch to the NDA, Sule declared that her party remains firmly with the INDIA alliance.
“There are several rumours about us. All information is source-driven. Our party is being maligned. There is no question of us going anywhere. We are in INDIA alliance,” Sule insisted.
Read | Sharad Pawar Has An Old ‘Two Plus Two’ Bargain For Delhi
The clarification on the delimitation bill came on a day when senior Congress leader P Chidambaram claimed that the BJP is wooing the NCP (SP) and the DMK to get their support for the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill, which the government intends to bring in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. He urged the two regional parties to not support the bill.
“After splitting the TMC, the BJP is reportedly wooing the NCP(SP) and the DMK to garner the crucial votes to support the new version of the failed Bill,” he posted on X.
The BJP is planning to bring back the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill that failed in the last session of Parliament in April 2026
The failed Bill purported to reserve for women one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies but its real purpose was to pave…
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 14, 2026
Since the last session, the ruling NDA has seen its numbers improve following splits in the Trinamool Congress and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena. But the ruling alliance is still short of the two-thirds majority mark needed to pass a Constitutional Amendment Bill in the House.
DMK’s frayed ties with the INDIA alliance after Congress’ tie-up with TVK in Tamil Nadu have also raised the Centre’s hopes of managing issue-based support from the southern party.
Sources have told NDTV that though the government is keen on bringing the delimitation bill in the Monsoon Session that begins next week, it will do so only once it is assured of two-thirds support.
