Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanded that the existing strength of the Lok Sabha remain at 543 seats for the next 25 years and sought an all-party meeting to discuss the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s proposed delimitation exercise.The process of fixing the boundaries of electoral constituencies is called delimitation.Kharge also said that one-third reservation for women should be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.The Congress leader said that after the meeting on the government’s delimitation proposal, all political parties should be given adequate time to study it before it is introduced in any special session of Parliament the government may be considering.He added that the delimitation proposal was a matter of “enormous significance” for the country and urged the government not to “bulldoze” it through again, as it had attempted to do on April 16 and 17.During a three-day special session of Parliament in April, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government introduced the 2026 Constitution 131st Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the 2023 Women’s Reservation Act and redraw the boundaries of electoral constituencies.The bill, one of the three draft legislations that were introduced, required a two-thirds majority of votes in Parliament to pass. The ruling National Democratic Alliance does not have a two-thirds majority of MPs in any House. Therefore, it required the support of Opposition parties to pass the amendment.The consideration of the bill was rejected by the Lok Sabha with 298 MPs voting in its favour and 230 against.Kharge had also urged Modi to hold an all-party meeting on the matter on July 16.The Congress leader said that he was reiterating his request after Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said in a television interview that a special session of Parliament could be convened.In an interview with India Today on Wednesday, Rijiju was asked whether the government could call a special session of Parliament. He said, “When the House is not prorogued, then the session can be called,” without giving a direct answer.The Monsoon session of Parliament concluded on August 13, when both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die, but the session has not yet been formally ended, or prorogued, PTI reported. Typically, prorogation takes place within three to four days of adjournment, but no notification had been issued as of Friday.On August 20, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay asked the Union government to provide a legislative assurance that any state’s representation in Parliament will not reduce due to the delimitation exercise.He made the statements a week after the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution calling for the Lok Sabha’s strength to permanently remain at 543 seats.Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.