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ClearIAS » Current Affairs Notes » Elections to the Rajya Sabha: Know the procedure of electing a candidate to the upper house

Elections to the Rajya Sabha: Know the procedure of electing a candidate to the upper house

Last updated on May 15, 2017 by Alex Andrews George

Most of us know how elections are conducted in Lok Sabha. But how is a candidate elected to Rajya Sabha? What is the election procedure of the upper house, Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States? Procedure for Rajya sabha elections are more complex when compared to Loksabha elections.

Why Rajya Sabha or Council of States?

Rajya Sabha Election

A single directly elected House was considered inadequate to meet the challenges before free India by the Constituent Assembly.  A second chamber, known as the ‘Council of States’, therefore, was created with altogether different composition and method of election from that of the directly elected House of the People.  It was meant to be the federal chamber i.e., a House elected by the elected members of Assemblies of the States and two Union Territories in which  States were not given equal representation (unlike many other federal countries).  Apart from the elected members, provision was also made for the nomination of twelve members to the House by the President.

Also read: Sessions of Parliament: Adjournment, Prorogation, Dissolution etc.

Composition of Rajya Sabha

Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union Territories.  The present strength of Rajya Sabha, however, is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. The members nominated by the President are persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service.

Also read: When Does a Bill Lapse in Indian Parliament?

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Allocation of Seats to Rajya Sabha

Parliament

The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for the allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha.  The allocation of seats is made on the basis of the population of each State.  Consequent on the reorganization of States and formation of new States, the number of elected seats in the Rajya Sabha allotted to States and Union Territories has changed from time to time since 1952.

Name of State
No. of Seats
Andhra Pradesh
18
Arunachal Pradesh
1
Assam
7
Bihar
16
Chhattisgarh
5
Goa
1
Gujarat
11
Haryana
5
Himachal Pradesh
3
Jammu & Kashmir
4
Jharkhand
6
Karnataka
12
Kerala
9
Madhya Pradesh
11
Maharashtra
19
Manipur
1
Meghalaya
1
Mizoram
1
Nagaland
1
National Capital Territory (Delhi)
3
Nominated
12
Odisha
10
Pondicherry
1
Punjab
7
Rajasthan
10
Sikkim
1
Tamil Nadu
18
Tripura
1
Uttar Pradesh
31
Uttarakhand
3
West Bengal
16

Process of Rajya Sabha Election

The representatives of the States and of the Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the method of indirect election.  The representatives of each State and two Union territories are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of that State and by the members of the Electoral College for that Union Territory, as the case may be, in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

Election to Rajya Sabha: Procedure Illustrated with an Example

The Rajya Sabha seat quota for each state is fixed as per Schedule 4 of the constitution. Elections to 1/3 of these seats occur every 2 years. Let’s take an example of a state where there is Rajya Sabha election for 3 seats. Let there be only two parties in the legislative assembly. Party A has 100 seats and party B has 40 seats. Both parties can field three candidates each for the three Rajya sabha seats.

To win a Rajya Sabha seat, a candidate should get a required number of votes. That number (quotient) is found out using the below formula.

Quotient = Total number of votes divided by (Number of Rajya Sabha seats + 1 ) + 1.

In the illustrated case, a candidate requires (140/4)+1, ie. 36 votes to win.

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NB: Members don’t vote for each seat. If that had been the case then only the ruling party representatives would make it through. Rather, the members give preferences for each candidate (as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). If 36 or more members choose a candidate as their first choice, he gets elected. So the Party B (opposition party in Loksabha assembly) with 40 seats can get one member elected if the members give preference for a candidate as first preference. The ruling party (Party A) on the other hand can get 2 members elected (72 votes from their 100 members).

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About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training, Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped thousands of aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. PULIMADA......(mktr) says

    April 4, 2014 at 1:21 am

    sir pls explain the “rajya saba members of Union Territory is elected by the Electoral College for that Union Territory,”. what is this electoral college consist…… is that the members of Legislative Assembly ….for that UT……? PULIMADA……(mktr)

    Reply
    • Shagun Chaudhary says

      June 20, 2020 at 2:31 pm

      Electoral college is create for the election of president too… It consist of.. 1- elected members of the both houses rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
      2- elected members of legislative assembly of states
      3-elected members of legislative assembly of union territory

  2. PULIMADA......(mktr) says

    April 4, 2014 at 1:26 am

    why delhi and pondicheri only have rajya saba members…………………? is it because both have Legislative Assembly …………?

    Reply
    • Pradeep Barnwal says

      June 11, 2016 at 12:31 pm

      Because other state don’t have that much population..

  3. deepak boora says

    March 23, 2015 at 12:28 am

    dear sir please define the meaning of electoral college in case ut election

    Reply
    • Pratham says

      March 26, 2015 at 3:21 pm

      For RS election for UT(its only for 2 UTs Delhi and Pud.)
      ele.coll=elected members of legi.assembly.

  4. Hemant Udeshi says

    August 14, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    In the current scenario, when BJP and NDA, can have Majority in RAJYA SHABHA?

    Reply
  5. Deepanshu says

    October 1, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    Please exaplain in brief that example.

    Reply
  6. PRK Prasad says

    April 24, 2016 at 6:05 pm

    can a member get elected to Rajya Sabha for the fourth successive term

    Reply
  7. Mohd Akram says

    May 13, 2016 at 2:42 pm

    This post is very hhelpful

    Reply
  8. Mohd Akram says

    May 13, 2016 at 2:46 pm

    Please explain the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

    Reply
  9. Ck gupta says

    June 1, 2016 at 12:33 pm

    When first preferance votes are equal and one candidate have some vote of second preference how counting will be done

    Reply
  10. Shyam says

    June 11, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    Nominated members of vidhansabha take part in rajya sabha election or not?

    Reply
    • Neeraj says

      October 17, 2016 at 10:58 pm

      Yes

  11. Quaiser says

    October 23, 2016 at 11:00 pm

    Members don’t vote for each seat.
    What means

    Reply
  12. MOHAMMAD RASHID says

    March 17, 2017 at 1:51 am

    Are members of “council of states” elected on the basis of members of legislative assembly of states and ut

    Reply
  13. satnam says

    March 20, 2017 at 8:43 am

    nice post

    Reply
  14. Jagdeesh R Singh says

    May 20, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    Pls tell the present calculation of party wise rajya sabha seats in uttar Pradesh

    Reply
  15. SANMATINDRA KUMAR JAIN says

    August 9, 2017 at 10:03 am

    In the example given above if for 4th seat no one gets 44 in first preference, how are 2nd preference votes counted? Are the 2nd preference votes for all who have voted even if his 1st preference vote has been counted? If not how is it determined whose 2nd preference vote is to be counted because people may have same 1st preference but different 2nd preference.

    Reply
  16. Shantanu Tomar says

    August 27, 2017 at 5:53 pm

    When you choose to explain a procedure, explain it completely or don’t start at all.
    You didn’t explain the transfer of votes to other preferences.

    Reply
  17. Kaushal Agrawal says

    November 9, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    Sir/Madam
    Can you please provide information regarding the provision or laws for by-election to parliament or state legislature in India.

    Reply
  18. Jeevanms says

    June 15, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    It was really helpful for clearing my queries

    Reply
  19. Sushil Vighne says

    February 28, 2019 at 6:52 pm

    Who is conducting RS elections????

    Reply
  20. Shiva says

    March 5, 2019 at 4:44 pm

    Who conducts the Election is it The Election Commission

    Reply
  21. Er.subodh says

    May 24, 2019 at 4:39 pm

    Rajya sabha election is conducted by Elections Commission of India.

    Reply
  22. shiv says

    July 1, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    why in Gujrat it is not happening ? why ECI is following other way in Gujrat for two rajya sabha seat on coming 5th july ? is this only for favouring BJP or really such procedures exists in constitution for ECI ? why Supreme court refuse to interfere in this matter ? is Supreme court also working for BJP ?

    Reply
  23. Thameem says

    July 8, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    I am from thameem chennai ,if any possible without admk,dmk,i can apply for rajashaba mp election what is procedure ,i am common people

    Reply
  24. Ashok says

    September 8, 2019 at 10:03 am

    Period of by election wining candidate of rajya sabha ?

    Reply
  25. Kiran says

    February 27, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    This is not Helpful. Not understand fully.
    What does this mean “”The members give preferences for each candidate (as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). If 36 or more members choose a candidate as their first choice, he gets elected””

    Reply
  26. Urmilesh says

    April 12, 2021 at 2:38 pm

    The above illustration for a state with 3 vacancy and 140.members is wrong.It should be 140/3=46,66+1=47votes.not 36

    Reply

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