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The Indian Parliament has two houses: the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. While the first house comprises the Prime Minister and his cabinet of ministers, the second house consists of the Members. Even though the Rajya Sabha holds limited legal or administrative power, it does play a crucial role in Indian governance.
All members of the Rajya Sabha in India have the power to override any bill originating from the Lok Sabha. The Indian Vice President acts as the ex-officio chairman for the Rajya Sabha, while the Deputy Chairman is responsible for carrying out the everyday activities of the house.
Who Can be a Member of the Rajya Sabha?
To become one of the members of the Rajya Sabha in India, one needs to follow certain prerequisites. The entire criteria are defined according to the amendments made to the Constitution. These are:
- According to Article 84 of the Indian Constitution, a candidate can become a Rajya Sabha member only if he is 30 years of age at the least.
- They need to be an Indian citizen by birth or by ancestral relationship.
- The member needs to be selected through a single transferable vote in a proportional representation.
- Irrespective of the number of members of the Rajya Sabha elected, the Legislative Assembly of both Union Territories and the States elect them.
- They should not hold any proclaimed criminal or police record.
- A member of Rajya Sabha should not have any debt that they cannot repay presently.
- Every Rajya Sabha member needs to be financially sound to meet their expenses.
- They should not hold any office of profit under the Indian government.
- They need to be sound mentally with no records of psychological problems.
- A member of Rajya Sabha needs to behave with all talents and skills as stated.
- Out of the total members of Rajya Sabha, the President can nominate 12 members having expert skills in different fields like science, arts, education, and more.
Facts to Know about the Members of Rajya Sabha as of 2022
To learn more about the members of Rajya Sabha in India, you must know about the current number of seats, occupancies and vacancies, political parties, heads of the house, and several other facts. To describe them further, we have listed some of the most crucial facts you must know about all these Indian Government house members.
Facts about Rajya Sabha Seats and Occupancies
- The total number of members of Rajya Sabha varies with time as new members are elected and existing members may leave their office, while the total seat number is 245.
- There are times when seats remain vacant. Elections are conducted to fill these seats.
List of Rajya Sabha members per state as of 2022
Based on the political parties currently active in India, the members of Rajya Sabha can be classified as the following:
Indian State | Number of members in Rajya Sabha (2022) |
Andhra Pradesh | 11 |
Arunachal Pradesh | 1 |
Assam | 7 |
Bihar | 14 |
Chhattisgarh | 5 |
Goa | 1 |
Gujarat | 11 |
Haryana | 5 |
Himachal Pradesh | 3 |
Jammu & Kashmir | 0 |
Jharkhand | 6 |
Karnataka | 11 |
Kerala | 9 |
Madhya Pradesh | 11 |
Maharashtra | 19 |
Manipur | 1 |
Meghalaya | 1 |
Mizoram | 1 |
Nagaland | 1 |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | 3 |
Odisha | 9 |
Puducherry | 1 |
Punjab | 7 |
Rajasthan | 10 |
Sikkim | 1 |
Tamil Nadu | 18 |
Telangana | 6 |
Tripura | 1 |
Uttar Pradesh | 31 |
Uttarakhand | 3 |
West Bengal | 16 |
Heads of the Rajya Sabha
Five members hold the main discretionary power of Rajya Sabha and its associated decisions. These are as follows:
- Shri M. VenKaiah Naidu: Chairman of Rajya Sabha
- Shri Harivansh: Deputy Chairman
- Shri Piyush Goyal: Leader of the House
- Shri Mallikarjun Kharge: Leader of the Opposition
- Shri P.C. Modi: Secretary-General
Additional facts about the members of the Rajya Sabha
- The total number of female members of Rajya Sabha as of 2022 is 27.
- Twelve nominated members of Rajya Sabha include Shri K.T.S Tulsi, Shri Suresh Gopi, Shri Swapan Dasgupta, and Smt. Roopa Ganguly, Shri Rakesh Sinha, Sr. Sonal Mansingh, and Dr. Narendra Jadhav.
- Every member of the Rajya Sabha can hold their office for six years.
- The Vice President, however, is elected only for five years.
Conclusion
All members of Rajya Sabha in India need to focus on the correct way of working of the Lok Sabha, review bills and other circulations passed by the Lok Sabha and elect the President and Vice President. One of the main powers of the Rajya Sabha members is they can sit through a bill and prevent its success as per the amendment made in the Constitution. Several other exclusive powers were given to this house of Indian Parliament according to Article 249, Article 312, Article 352 Clause (4), Article 356 Clause (3), and more. Presently, this house of the Indian Parliament plays a crucial role in the administration, judiciary, and legal.
