Question

The Vidhan Parishad has 78 members. What should be the number of members elected by Graduates?
A. 7 members
B. 12 members
C. 21 members
D. 31 members

Answer 1

Hint: India has a bicameral legislature and consists of two Houses of Parliament. Similarly, in some states, the state legislature comprises two houses - the Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha and the Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad.

Complete Step by Step Answers: The provisions of the state legislature have been mentioned in Chapter III of Part VI of the Indian Constitution, from Article 168 to 212. The Vidhan Parishad is the upper house whereas Vidhan Sabha is the lower house of the State Legislature.

The member of the Vidhan Parishad is elected by the local bodies, state legislative assembly etc. The members of the house are elected for 6 years and comprise one-third of the total number of members in the Vidhan Sabha or Legislative Assembly. The membership should not be less than 40.
- One-third of the total number of members of the Vidhan Parishad are elected by the local bodies such as district councils, Gram panchayats, Panchayat Samiti and municipalities.
- One-third are elected by the members of the Vidhan Sabha of the State from amongst members who are not the members of the Vidhan Sabha.
- One-sixth of the members are nominated by the Governor of a State from persons having experience and expert knowledge in the fields of science, arts, literature, social service and the cooperative movement.
- One-twelfth of the total number of members are elected by the electorates comprising teachers with an experience of 3 years in the teaching profession in the educational institutes of the State.
- One-twelfth members are elected by registered graduates.

So, if the Vidhan Sabha has 78 members, then one-sixth of its members, that is, 7 members are elected by Graduates.

Thus, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: In India out of 29 states, 6 states consist of the Vidhan Parishad or Legislative Council. The States having two Houses are Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Bihar. However, the State of Andhra Pradesh has recently passed a resolution to abolish the state’s Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad.