The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 reserves seats for women in legislatures but is silent on executive representation. Discuss with reference to recent state-level Cabinet formations.

Enacted in September 2023, the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act inserted Articles 330A and 332A to reserve one-third of Lok Sabha and State Assembly seats for women [1]. Its reach, however, stops at the legislature: the composition of Councils of Ministers remains untouched, as recent State Cabinet formations demonstrate.

What the Amendment secures

• One-third of directly elected seats in the Lok Sabha, all State Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly, including a sub-quota within SC/ST seats [1].
• Operative only after delimitation following the next Census, effectively from around the 2029 elections, and for 15 years, extendable by Parliament [2].
• It addresses a real deficit — women formed roughly 14% of the Lok Sabha at enactment, below the global average [3].

The silence on the executive

• Reservation attaches to seats, not to offices. Appointment of ministers under Article 164 rests wholly on the Chief Minister's advice, so no quota, floor or disclosure norm applies [1].
• Contrast Article 243D, which reserves both seats and chairperson posts in panchayats; women today are nearly 46% of PRI representatives — proof that quotas on offices, not just seats, shift power [5].

Evidence from recent Cabinet formations

• Karnataka's Council of Ministers, expanded to its full strength of 33 on 3 August 2026, includes no woman minister [4].
• Gayathri Shanthegowda, the only woman on the ruling party's initial list, was dropped before the swearing-in as caste and regional claims prevailed [4].
• The monsoon session opened on 13 August 2026 with an all-male ministry, despite the party's national advocacy of 33% reservation [4].

Descriptive representation in legislatures is thus a necessary but insufficient step; without ministerial presence, women remain outside decision-making. Voluntary party norms on ministerial berths, transparent selection criteria and timely delimitation would carry the Amendment's promise into the executive, honouring the equality of opportunity in public employment envisaged by Articles 15(3) and 16.