As the government is set to place the women's reservation and delimitation bill on April 17, Samajwadi Party boss Akhilesh Yadav indicated that there could be a conspiracy at play from the BJP to divide Uttar Pradesh if the new bill is passed. The proposal mandates a 50 percent increase in Lok Sabha and assembly seats across the country. According to this, the state's current 403 assembly seats could rise to over 600. However, the constitution caps the limit at 500.
"When delimitation happens and assembly seats are redrawn, Uttar Pradesh’s tally could go beyond 500 assembly seats. If that happens, what is the government thinking? Unless there is a sly plot at work, could it be that, under the garb of women’s reservation bill, they are concealing a conspiratorial move?" Akhilesh said in the Parliament.
"In Uttar Pradesh, 120 Lok Sabha seats will be created, and the Assembly strength will reach 600. Could there be a conspiracy behind this, one that may not yet be fully understood? And if there is such a conspiracy, then, just as you lost Ayodhya, you may once again lose Uttar Pradesh," he added.
What does the Indian constitution say about the upper limit of number of assembly seats and what happens if the numbers go beyond 500 mark?
As per Article 170 of the Indian Constitution, state legislative assemblies must be kept at a maximum strength of 500 members, meaning they currently cannot exceed 500. As the new proposals (as of April 2026) suggest a 50 per cent increase in seats due to delimitation, surpassing 500 would require a constitutional amendment.
"It is common that if the number of seats exceeds a limit, for example, if Uttar Pradesh’s seats go beyond 600 as per the Bill, it may not be feasible to keep such a large state together," says Dr Jitendra Kumar, professor at Lucknow University.
"To ensure feasibility, there could be a division of the state. Constitutionally, amendments would be required if the state is to be kept together, but there is a higher probability that the state could be divided," he added.
The national spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party adds that the BJP’s intent is to mislead people, citing its earlier delimitation exercises in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir as unfair. He argues that the conspiracy of the BJP lies in the process, its track record, the urgency, and the missing details, particularly on how each state, including Uttar Pradesh, will be impacted, as well as the lack of clarity on reservation and the status of minorities.