State legislative councils of India

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The State Legislative Council, or Vidhan Parishad, or Saasada Mandali is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral state legislature; the lower house being the State Legislative Assembly. Its establishment is defined in Article 168 of the Constitution of India.

As of 2022, 6 out of 28 states have a State Legislative Council. These are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.[1]

Qualification and tenure[]

To become a member of a State Legislative Council (MLC), a person must be a citizen of India, at least 30 years old, mentally sound, not an insolvent, and must be enrolled on the voter's list of the state for which he or she is contesting an election. He or she may not be a Member of Parliament and Member of the State Legislative Assembly at the same time.
The tenure of the MLCs are six years. One-third of the members of State Legislative Council retire after every two years. This arrangement parallels that for the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.[2]

Composition[]

The size of the State Legislative Council cannot be more than one third of the membership of the State Legislative Assembly. However, its size cannot be less than 40 members. These members elect the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the State Legislative Council.

MLCs are chosen in the following manner:[2]

Creation, Abolition & Roles of State Legislative Councils[]

According to the Article 169 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament of India can create or abolish the State Legislative Council of a state if that state's legislature passes a resolution for that with a special majority. As of December 2020, 6 out of the 28 states have State Legislative Council.[2]
The existence of a State Legislative Council has proven politically controversial. A number of states that have had their Legislative Council abolished have subsequently requested its re-establishment; conversely, proposals for the re-establishment of the Legislative Council for a state have also met with opposition. Proposals for abolition or re-establishment of a state's Legislative Council require confirmation by the Parliament of India.
The Constitution of India gives limited power to the State Legislative Council. The State Legislative Council can neither form or dissolve a state government. The State Legislative Council also have no role in the passing of money bills. But some of the powers it has is that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the State Legislative Council enjoy the same status of Cabinet Ministers in the state.[2]

Current State Legislative Councils[]

Council Image Constituencies Seat(s) House strength Ruling party
Elected Nom. Total
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Andhra Pradesh Secretariat.jpg List Amaravati 50 8 58 YSR Congress Party
Bihar Legislative Council Vidhan-sabha-bihar.jpg List Patna 63 12 75 Janata Dal (United)
Karnataka Legislative Council Vidhana Souda , Bangalore.jpg Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.jpg List Bangalore (summer)
Belagavi (winter)
64 11 75 Bharatiya Janata Party
Maharashtra Legislative Council
Vidhan Bhavan1.jpg
List Mumbai (summer)
Nagpur (winter)
66 12 78 Shiv Sena
Telangana Legislative Council Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.jpg List Hyderabad 34 6 40 Telangana Rashtra Samithi
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Vidhan Sabha Lucknow.jpg List Lucknow 90 10 100 Bharatiya Janata Party
Total 367 59 426

State Legislative Councils by ruling parties[]

Ruling party States Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 2 National Democratic Alliance
Janata Dal (United) 1 National Democratic Alliance
Shiv Sena 1 United Progressive Alliance
Telangana Rashtra Samithi 1 Others
YSR Congress Party 1 Others

Former State Legislative Councils[]

Council Seat(s) House strength Years active Abolished by
Assam Legislative Council Shillong 42 1950–1969 Assam Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969.
Bombay Legislative Council Bombay 78 1950–1960 Bombay State Reorganisation Act, 1960.
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council Srinagar (summer)
Jammu (winter)
36 1957–2019 Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
Bhopal 77 1956–1969 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969.
Punjab Legislative Council Chandigarh 39 1956–1969 Punjab Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969.
Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Chennai 78 1956–1986 Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1986.
Dehradun 8 2000–2002 Uttar Pradesh (Reorganisation) Act, 2000.

Criticism & Support[]

The State Legislative Councils are criticised for being unnecessary. It is considered a burden on the state budget and cause delays in passing legislations.[2] State legislative council helps the defeated leaders to get a seat in the state legislature. This reduces the feeling of democracy, since the leaders are elected indirectly. These are the reasons why most of the states don't prefer legislative councils.
Other states support the establishment of legislative councils, arguing that they represent the local governments and also give voice to people having expertise in various fields (through Gubernatorial nominations).

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "WHAT IS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "WHAT IS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL". Business Standard. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
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