Rajya Sabha Elections

Rajya Sabha

India has a very complex democratic set-up with a large population to manage. There are three major tiers of Indian democracy, the legislative, executive and judiciary. All three components are considered three legs of the constitution that keeps it running. The Constitution is a living document and the longest one in the world. It was framed keeping in mind the need for adaptation according to change in the country. It can be amended, and there is ample scope for the addition of new laws and the revocation of old ones. The legislature of the country does all this. 

Legislative is that branch of democracy that deals with the framing of laws. All the decisions regarding laws in the Indian constitution are framed and revoked by the legislative. India has many components in the legislative as well, where there is Rajya sabha and lok sabha at the central level and legislative assembly and legislative council at the state level. All the central laws which are going to affect the whole nation are framed, revoked and amended in the Lok Sabha and Rajya sabha. In contrast, all the laws which affect a specific state are revoked, amended and framed in the legislative assembly of the state. 

The power, responsibilities and procedure of elections of all these components differ and are conducted according to their specifications at different times. This article will focus on the upper house of the parliament, that is, the Rajya sabha and all the powers, responsibilities as well election procedure of the same.

Rajya Sabha

Indian democracy has a bicameral set-up at the central level. Bicameral legislature refers to the kind of setup where there are two sets of legislative bodies. The two legislative bodies are lok sabha, and Rajya sabha, commonly referred to as the upper house and the lower house of the parliament. There are powers and responsibilities assigned to both the houses with certain restrictions and certain privileges. Lok Sabha is the lower house where representatives directly elected by the people are appointed, and it exercises the actual power in the parliament. 

It is known as the house of people. Rajya Sabha, which is the upper house of the parliament, has indirect representatives of the people who are the ministers elected in state government on behalf of the people. It is known as the council of states. The maximum limit of the number of members in Rajya Sabha is 245, where 233 members are elected from the states, and the remaining are directly appointed by the president as the representatives of their respective fields. It should be kept in mind that the term of Rajya sabha members is 6 years. It cannot be dissolved, unlike lok sabha, because the election for the members of Rajya sabha happens in different states at different points of time according to completion of terms, and the Rajya sabha is not empty at any point in time.

Powers and Responsibilities of Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha is the house of elders in the Indian government with no laws regarding any dissolution, which happens in lok sabha at 5 years. Rajya sabha is headed by the honorable vice-president of India, the ex-official head of this council. Ex-officio refers to the fact that it is an implied fact that the vice-president will head the Rajya sabha. 

To be eligible for the Rajya Sabha elections, a person should be a citizen of India with a minimum age of 30 years. There should be no criminal records against the person, and the way of appointment should be a single transferable vote. It should be kept in mind that the person who will be a member of Rajya sabha must not hold any other government office. 

Rajya Sabha is considered extremely powerful concerning the significant position that it holds in the parliament. Iti is the link between centre and state that represents the internist of all the states of the country. Rajya Sabha is authorised with the power of framing laws that affect the people of states. If the lok sabha frames or amends or revokes any law that will directly impact states, then it has to be mandatorily passed by Rajya sabha with a minimum of a two-thirds majority. If this does not happen, the law will not be made part of the constitution.

Rajya Sabha Elections

Rajya Sabha has the process of indirect elections where the government of states selects the members as per the proportion of seats available for them. The seats in Rajya sabha are allocated according to the proportion of the population. Uttar Pradesh has the largest population, and it has the most seats allocated in Rajya sabha. In contrast, states such as Nagaland and Mizoram are sparsely populated and have 1 seat. 

Rajya Sabha can never be dissolved, and the members are elected for 6 years. They are elected every two years for one-third of the members whose term of 6 years gets completed. The indirect method is followed where members from the state’s legislative assembly elect the members of Rajya sabha. 

Conclusion

Rajya sabha has an indirect method of election and is equally significant as the lok sabha in many aspects. The Rajya sabha can never be dissolved, unlike the lok sabha, and elections are held every two years.