Vidhan Parishad

The Vidhan Parishad (or Legislative Council) is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral legislature. As of 2014, seven (out of twenty-nine) states have a Legislative Council: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana,and Uttar Pradesh. In addition, Rajasthan and Assam are cleared by the parliament of India to make their own Vidhan Parishads.

Membership

In contrast with a state's Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly), the Legislative Council is a permanent body and cannot be dissolved;[1] each Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) serves for a six-year term, with terms staggered so that the terms of one-third of a Council's members expire every two years. This arrangement parallels that for the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.

MLCs must be citizens of India, at least 30 years' old, mentally sound, not an insolvent, and on the voters' list of the state for which he or she is contesting an election. He or she may not be a Member of Parliament at the same time.

The size of the Vidhan Parishad cannot be more than one-third the membership of the Vidhan Sabha. However, its size cannot be less than 40 members (except in Jammu and Kashmir, where there are 36 by an Act of Parliament.)

MLCs are chosen in the following manner:

Proposed Vidhan Parishads

Abolition and revival

The existence of a Legislative Council has proven politically controversial. A number of states that have had their Council abolished have subsequently requested its re-establishment; conversely, proposals for the re-establishment of the Council for a state have also met with opposition. Proposals for abolition or re-establishment of a state's Legislative Council require confirmation by the Parliament of India.

In April 2007, the State of Andhra Pradesh re-established its Legislative Council. The State's main opposition party, the Telugu Desam Party, had stated that it would abolish the council again if it came to power in the state.

After the victory of the Akali Dal-BJP in Punjab, newly elected Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal stated that he would re-constitute the state's Vidhan Parishad.

See also

References

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