Question

How are the Rajya Sabha members elected?

Answer 1

Hint: Approach the question by understanding what the Rajya Sabha is. In the bicameral legislative system in India, there are two houses at the centre—the Lok Sabha (lower house) or the House of People and the Rajya Sabha (upper house) or the Council of States. However, elections to the Rajya Sabha are not like the elections to other upper houses in the world. For example, the elections to the US Senate are direct and all 50 states have equal representation of 2 Senators each. Whereas in the House of Lords of the British Parliament, members are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Complete answer: The members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the respective states under proportional representation. The Rajya Sabha has a total of 250 members, 238 elected members and 12 members nominated by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and a third of the members retire every two years so the tenure of the members is essentially .

Note: The Vice-President functions as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and presides over all the meetings and other businesses of the Upper House. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is elected by the members of the Rajya Sabha. The Deputy Chairman performs the functions of the Chairman if there is a vacancy in the office of the Chairman or when the Vice-President (Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) is discharging the duties of the President.