“Modi’s Grand Design for Reform During Monsoon Session”, Open the magazine, July 17, 2026
“ON THE EVENING OF APRIL 17, SOON AFTER THE Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was defeated in Lok Sabha, the sense of triumph in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was plainly evident. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared pleased with his speech on the lessons his grandmother, Indira Gandhi, taught him about conquering inner fears. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) group looked relieved with seniors Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran chatting with party MPs. Rashtriya Loktantrik Party’s Hanuman Beniwal and Bharat Adivasi Party’s Rajkumar Roat—strongly aligned against BJP—were in a celebratory mood. Trinamool Congress’ Mahua Moitra could be seen animatedly talking to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
The mood in the BJP benches was more thoughtful. This was the first time, since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government assumed office in 2014, that a legislation had fallen in Parliament. Was the decision to force a vote on the ambitious plan to link the rollout of 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures with a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census to raise Lok Sabha’s strength to a maximum of 850 a miscalculation? BJP MPs pondered whether the failure of the Constitution amendment to secure the support of two-thirds of the House present and voting exposed the limits of the party’s numbers in the 18th Lok Sabha. The decision of DMK and Trinamool to oppose the proposals was certainly driven by electoral considerations, as Tamil Nadu and West Bengal were due to vote soon. But they were also propelled by a strident opposition to BJP, and in the case of DMK, also by a close alliance with Congress. Opposing the Centre, privileging regional identity and attacking BJP’s advocacy of Hindutva was a core mantra.
DMK leader MK Stalin warned BJP not to “play with fire” and symbolically burnt a copy of the Constitution Amendment Bill. If DMK and Trinamool felt it was important to deny BJP a major “victory” ahead of voting, things did not go as per plan. It is clear that voting against the proposals did them no good at all. Trinamool Congress was voted out by a saffron tsunami, ending 15 years in office and in Tamil Nadu, actor Joseph Vijay inflicted a humiliating loss on DMK and reduced the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to an inconsequential sideshow. The electoral results of May 4 delivered major gains to BJP, which retained Assam and Puducherry and wrested West Bengal, reinforcing its status as India’s premier political force. The results further wiped out the deficit of a subpar 2024 Lok Sabha score. BJP well and truly turned the corner, and the I.N.D.I.A. bloc stood seriously weakened as Trinamool and DMK, along with Samajwadi Party, had been the core of the vocal numerical resistance to BJP in Parliament. In a matter of weeks, the heated debate on whether the gambit of calling a special session of Parliament in the midst of state elections was a good call or not was decisively settled…….”
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