The government had earlier sought the opinion of its previous Attorney General, Mukul Rohtagi, on the issue, as there has been blanket freeze on increasing the number of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies since 1976.
The Centre has put in motion the process to amend the Constitution to increase the number of Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — the two states created after bifurcating Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
According to sources, the Union Law Ministry has been directed to finalise the draft of the amendment Bill in consultation with the concerned ministry. If everything goes according to plan, the government intends to introduce the Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament after seeking cabinet nod.
The government had earlier sought the opinion of its previous Attorney General, Mukul Rohtagi, on the issue, as there has been blanket freeze on increasing the number of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies since 1976.
Following the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976 and the 91st Constitutional Amendment Bill in 2001, the delimitation of all constituencies was frozen till 2026. Also, with the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the two new state assemblies continue with the same number of MLAs.
While undivided Andhra Pradesh had 294 Assembly seats, after the bifurcation, Telangana has 119 Assembly constituencies while the new Andhra Pradesh House has 175 MLAs.
However, both state governments have repeatedly sought an increase in the strength of their respective Houses.
Legal experts, however, feel any amendment to the Constitution to increase the seats in both Houses could be legally questionable.
They say the stated reason behind the 91st Constitutional Amendment was to ensure status quo till the 2031 national census. A fresh delimitation in 2026 is expected to ensure that the difference between the size of electorates in urban and rural constituencies is bridged.
"The states may demand an increase in the number of Lok Sabha constituencies tomorrow. What will happen then? The government must rethink its decision as other states may raise similar demands," said a legal expert on the condition of anonymity.
However, sources in the Law Ministry told DNA the government seems to have decided to introduce the Bill in the coming Monsoon Session of the Parliament.
Numbers game
While undivided Andhra Pradesh had 294 seats, after the bifurcation, Telangana has 119 Assembly constituencies while the new Andhra Pradesh House has 175 MLAs.
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