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Explainer: What are the Rajya Sabha polls?
As India’s federal laws need the approval of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the upper house – whose members aren’t directly elected by the public – can reject a bill or seek amendments.
In India’s bicameral Parliament – inspired by the British system – the Rajya Sabha or upper house enjoys nearly all the powers of the Lok Sabha or lower house, except that it can’t veto a budget or any money bill.
As India’s federal laws need the approval of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the upper house – whose members aren’t directly elected by the public – can reject a bill or seek amendments. Also, a legislation introduced in the Rajya Sabha has no shelf life and will remain alive till it has been passed by the House.
How the members are elected?
While Lok Sabha members are elected directly by voters, the Rajya Sabha members come through a complex process of proportional representation and by votes of the legislators of their respective state. The calculation is: Total number of legislators of the state ÷ no of seats going to polls in the state + 1.
Each legislator or MLA will give ranking of candidates according to his or her preference. If a candidate gets the minimum requisite votes, he or she will be elected.
But in a contest, if a candidate fails to get the requisite votes from the first preference of the voters, the second preference votes will be counted.
How many members are there in Rajya Sabha?
The strength of the Rajya Sabha is 245, of whom 233 are elected from the states and union territories. The remaining 12 are nominated by the president. The number of Rajya Sabha MPs from a state depends of the size of its population. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, sends 31 MPs to the upper house, while Arunachal Pradesh has just one seat.
Who are the nominated members?
These members are nominated by the president because of their special knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, art and social service. Nominated members enjoy the same perks and privileges as that of elected members except on one count – they can’t participate in the election of the president.
