All About Elections for State Legislative Councils

About State Legislative Council

• The State Legislative Council, also known as the Vidhan Parishad, is the upper house in the bicameral legislature of some states.
• 6 Bicameral States: Currently, six states have a Legislative Council.
  • These states are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.
• Permanent Body: The Legislative Council is a permanent house and cannot be dissolved.
• Duration: Members serve for six years, and one-third retire every two years.
• Constitutional Provisions:
  • Article 169: It empowers Parliament to create or abolish a State Legislative Council by a simple majority after a special majority resolution of the State Legislative Assembly.
    • However, the resolution passed by the Legislative Assembly is not binding on Parliament.
  • Article 171: It lays down the composition of the State Legislative Council.
  • Article 172: It provides that members serve for six years, with one-third retiring every two years.
• Composition:
  • Nature: The Legislative Council consists of nominated and indirectly elected members.
  • Strength: The total membership cannot exceed one-third of the strength of the Legislative Assembly and must have a minimum of 40 members.
  • Presiding Officers: The Council elects a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman from among its members.
• Electorate Breakdown:
  • Legislative Assembly: One-third of the members are elected by the Legislative Assembly.
  • Local Authorities: One-third of the members are elected by municipalities and other local authorities.
  • Graduates: One-twelfth of the members are elected by graduates.
  • Teachers: One-twelfth of the members are elected by teachers.
  • Governor: About one-sixth of the members are nominated by the Governor.
• Voting System : Elections are conducted through proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote under Article 171.
• Eligibility Criteria:
  • Must be a citizen of India.
  • Must be 30 years of age or above.
  • Must make an oath or affirmation of allegiance to the Constitution.
  • Must be an elector in an Assembly constituency of the concerned state.
• Disqualifications:
  • Office of Profit: A person holding a paid office under the Union or State Government is disqualified, except in cases exempted by law.
  • Unsound Mind: A person declared to be of unsound mind by a competent court is disqualified.
  • Insolvency: An undischarged insolvent is disqualified.
  • Foreign Citizenship: A person who acquires foreign citizenship or acknowledges allegiance to a foreign State is disqualified.
  • Anti-Defection: A person who defects to another party or violates the party whip under the Tenth Schedule is disqualified.
  • Statutory Violations: A person disqualified under laws made by Parliament is disqualified (e.g., if they are convicted of a serious crime and sentenced to 2 or more years of imprisonment, fail to lodge election expenses, or commit corrupt electoral practices).
  • Prolonged Absence: A member absent from all House meetings for sixty days without permission is disqualified (Article 190(4)).