Dual-Member Constituencies

Reservation of women in parliament still remains a mirage in spite of the commitment affirmed by all political parties towards womenâ??s empowerment. The debacle that is enacted in parliament each time the bill is tabled, and the experience of rotational reservation in local bodies suggest that the womenâ??s reservation bill based on the principle of reservation may not be the best alternative available. This paper attempts a dispassionate discussion of the principle of rotation and offers another possible alternative. The new proposal of dual-member constituencies as recently suggested may not be perfect but affords a feasible alternative of resolving the deadlock on womenâ??s reservation.