Hyderabad: This time the elections for 56 seats of Rajya Sabha are scheduled to take place on February 27. These seats are spread across 15 states and the last day for filing nominations is February 15. However, the process of selecting candidates for Rajya Sabha seats largely varies from the process adopted for Lok Sabha elections.
Here’s a breakdown of the composition of Rajya Sabha and how elections would be conducted.
Composition of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
Parliament is bicameral: the Upper House is called the Rajya Sabha of Parliament, while the other is Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha is the second chamber of the Parliament and has representatives from the States and Union Territories.
According to Article 80 of our Constitution, the maximum strength of members in Rajya Sabha is 250; 238 of them represent the States and Union Territories, while 12 are nominated by the President who are veterans in the field of art, literature, sports, science etc.
In the Lower House of the Parliament, called the Lok Sabha, the members are elected for a term of five years, scheduled to be held in the coming months. Every two years, elections will be organised to select 33 per cent of the seats.
After the implementation of the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act, 2019, the current strength of Rajya Sabha was reduced to 245 members.
How are States and UTs represented in Rajya Sabha?
The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution deals with allocating seats in the Rajya Sabha.
Representation of States: Rajya Sabha members are elected by the members of State Legislative Assemblies using a method of proportional representation. The population of the state is a factor that decides the representation of States in Rajya Sabha, which is not equal due to population differences among states.
States with a larger population will have a greater number of seats in the Rajya Sabha than those with a lesser population. For example, Uttar Pradesh has 31 Rajya Sabha seats while Goa has one.
Representation of Union Territories: Members of Rajya Sabha belonging to Union Territories are indirectly elected by members of an electoral college, constituted for this purpose, similar to what is followed for the States. Out of eight Union Territories, Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir have representation in the Rajya Sabha. The President does the nomination.
Criteria for electing Rajya Sabha members
The selected members are said to have excelled in art, literature, science, or social service. Interestingly, the President selects a former Chief Justice of India as the MP in this category.
Members of the State Legislative Assemblies choose Rajya Sabha members through an indirect election system of proportional representation using a single transferable vote (SVT) counting process.
Quota and counting votes: The process of counting votes for a Rajya Sabha election follows a complex system. A candidate contesting polls for the Upper House is required to secure a specific number of votes called quota. The calculation of the quota depends on the number of vacancies to be filled. If the polls are being conducted to fill one vacancy, the quota will be computed by dividing the total number of valid votes by the number of seats to be filled, plus 1, and adding 1 to the quotient.
Quota = [(Total number of valid votes) / (Number of seats+1)] + 1
However, if there is more than one seat to be filled, the formula changes and the total number of valid votes is multiplied by 100, divided by the total number of vacancies, plus 1, and adding 1 to the quotient.
Quota (for more than one seat) = [(Total number of valid votes x 100) / (Number of seats vacant) + 1] + 1
In case a candidate receives votes in surplus of the quota, the extra votes are then transferred to other candidates based on the preference listed by the voters indicated on the ballot paper.
Modifications to Rajya Sabha election process
Twenty years ago (elections in 2003), two changes were made to the structure of Rajya Sabha. Firstly, to be elected as a Rajya Sabha member from a particular state, the requirement to be an elector from that state was removed. Secondly, the system of an open ballot was introduced in place of a secret ballot.
How are parties managing nominations?
On February 15, the filing of candidates for elections for Rajya Sabha candidates from the political parties ended. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its list of Rajya Sabha candidates for 14 seats, which include former Congress minister RPN Singh and six others for Uttar Pradesh, and a mix of leaders from other states, aimed at balancing caste equations and boosting organisational morale and strength.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the candidature of Sonia Gandhi from Rajasthan and Dr Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Bihar. In addition, Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been fielded from Himachal Pradesh and Chandrakant Handore from Maharashtra.
Out of 56 seats, 10 are in UP, six each in Maharashtra, four each in Gujarat and Karnataka, three each in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Odisha, and one from Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh each. Most of them are likely to get elected unopposed. February 20 is the last date for withdrawing candidature.
The NDA’s current strength in the Upper House of Parliament stands at 114, including 93 of the BJP. The Congress has 30 seats, the second highest. Fifty members will retire on April 2 and on April 3 six will retire. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the other six will retire.
Dr M Sridhar Acharyulu is a professor at the School of Law, Mahindra University in Hyderabad.
