Closing ranks ahead of a crucial Parliament session, the INDIA bloc on Wednesday made it clear that while it supports women’s reservation, it wants the quota to be implemented within the existing strength of 543 Lok Sabha seats and not through a delimitation exercise proposed by the Centre.At a strategy meeting convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence, leaders from across the opposition spectrum agreed to oppose any move that links the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act to a 2011 Census and subsequent redrawing of constituencies.The meeting, held at 10 Rajaji Marg, comes a day before the special three-day sitting of Parliament from April 16 to 18, during which the government is expected to bring amendments to operationalise the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’. The Centre’s proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats to around 850 through delimitation has triggered concerns within the opposition, which sees it as politically loaded and structurally disadvantageous to south and northeastern states.Leaders from over 20 parties attended the meeting, including Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, TR Baalu (DMK), Derek O’Brien and Sagarika Ghosh (TMC), Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Tejashwi Yadav and Sanjay Yadav (RJD), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena UBT), Supriya Sule (NCP–Sharad Pawar faction), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Omar Abdullah (NC), Nilotpal Basu (CPI-M), ET Mohammed Basheer (IUML), Annie Raja and Sandosh Kumar (CPI), NK Premachandran (RSP), Rajaram Singh and Ravi Kumar (CPML), Jose K Mani and Francis George (Kerala Congress factions), D Ravikumar (VCK) and Kapil Sibal (Independent).Senior leaders Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Hemant Soren (JMM), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena UBT), Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-ML) and Durai Vaiko (MDMK) joined the meeting online.Addressing the media after the meeting, Kharge said all opposition parties were united in supporting women’s reservation but had strong objections to the manner in which the BJP-led Central Government was attempting to implement it. He said the bloc had consistently backed the women’s reservation Bill, both in 2010 and the 2023 constitutional amendment, and insisted that what had already been passed should now be implemented.Kharge indicated that linking the quota to delimitation and census raised serious concerns. He said the government had not provided clarity on the Census and alleged that delimitation was being used as a political tool. Referring to delimitation excercise conducted in 2023 in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, he said such processes had led to divisions and raised doubts about fairness.He added that the opposition believed the intent behind the present proposal was political and aimed at weakening rival parties. The bloc, he added, had decided to take a united stand and oppose the Bill in its current form in Parliament. He reiterated that the opposition was not against women’s reservation but against the way it was being structured through delimitation.KC Venugopal said the opposition would vote against the delimitation proposal, making it clear that the bloc would resist any attempt to link reservation with redrawing of constituencies.Jairam Ramesh said the INDIA alliance would participate in discussions in both Houses but oppose the delimitation process being proposed by the government in its present form. He described the proposed exercise as “dangerous” and said the way delimitation had been carried out in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam showed it could become a political tool in the hands of BJP.Ramesh said all opposition parties present at the meeting unanimously agreed that women’s reservation should be implemented from 2029, but without linking it to delimitation or an increase in seats. He said the bloc would pursue its opposition through democratic means in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.He also said the alliance was firmly opposed to the delimitation proposal and would vote against it if brought in its current form, while continuing to support the idea of women’s reservation.