{"id":130362,"date":"2026-10-24T11:06:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T05:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=130362"},"modified":"2026-10-24T11:06:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T05:36:46","slug":"legislative-councils-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/legislative-councils-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Legislative Councils in India: Powers, Elections and Role"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Legislative Councils in India Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elections to 28 seats across the Legislative Councils of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Karnataka were held recently. Unlike elections for Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs), not every adult citizen can vote for Members of Legislative Councils (MLCs) \u2014 and not all states even have a Legislative Council.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This raises a fundamental constitutional question: why does this body exist, and what role does it play in India\u2019s political system?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What Are Legislative Councils?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just as the Indian Union has a <\/span><b>bicameral Parliament<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Lok Sabha + Rajya Sabha), some states have a bicameral legislature \u2014 a Legislative Assembly plus a Legislative Council.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently <\/span><b>six states<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have Legislative Councils: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Colonial Origins\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Traces back to the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/government-of-india-act-1919\/\" target=\"_blank\">Montagu-Chelmsford reforms<\/a><\/strong>, which created the Council of State at the national level in 1919.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Government of India Act, 1935 established bicameral legislatures in provinces.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first Legislative Council began functioning in Bengal in 1937.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Similarities With the Rajya Sabha<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Acts as a \u201csecond layer\u201d of deliberation in the law-making process.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bills require its approval to become law.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum age to contest: above 30 years (versus 25 for Lok Sabha\/Assembly elections).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Members serve six-year terms via indirect elections.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cannot be dissolved; one-third of members retire every two years.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Constituent Assembly Debate<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Views on the need for Legislative Councils were sharply divided.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leaders argued for a check on the Lower House, citing concerns about placing all power \u201cin the hands of those&#8230; not only literate but wise too.\u201d (His reasoning reflected the era\u2019s elitist anxieties about universal adult franchise.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critics pointed out the Council\u2019s limited powers \u2014 notably, it cannot reject the Assembly\u2019s decisions on a Money Bill \u2014 questioning whether a body with such restricted authority justified the added public expenditure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The debate over whether to have a Council at all remains politically contentious even today: Tamil Nadu\u2019s AIADMK government abolished its Council in 1986; the DMK has since repeatedly sought to revive it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Political Significance of MLC Elections<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though not contested on party symbols, candidates are still backed by political parties.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These elections function as a political barometer \u2014 signalling party strength among educated groups and professionals, or indicating overall political standing ahead of major elections (as seen currently in Uttar Pradesh).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Constitutional Framework: How Councils Are Created and Composed<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 169:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Parliament can create or abolish a Legislative Council if the state\u2019s Legislative Assembly passes a resolution by:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A majority of total Assembly membership, and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A majority of at least two-thirds of members present and voting.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 171<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 Composition rules:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total MLCs cannot exceed one-third of the state\u2019s total MLAs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total MLCs cannot be fewer than 40.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How MLCs Are Elected: The Composition Formula<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elections use proportional representation via the single transferable vote, with electors ranking candidates by preference. The composition breaks down as:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>One-third<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Elected by municipalities, district boards, and other local authorities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>One-twelfth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Elected by graduates (minimum 3 years as a university graduate, or equivalent qualification) residing in the state \u2014 the \u201cGraduates\u2019 constituency.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>One-twelfth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Elected by teachers with at least 3 years of teaching experience in institutions of secondary school level or above \u2014 the \u201cTeachers\u2019 constituency.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Remaining members<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Partly elected by MLAs themselves, and partly nominated by the Governor, chosen for \u201cspecial knowledge or practical experience\u201d in fields like literature, science, art, and social service.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Legislative Council remains one of India\u2019s more underexamined constitutional institutions \u2014 a colonial-era holdover retained in only a handful of states, serving as a deliberative check rather than a co-equal legislative power.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it lacks the Rajya Sabha\u2019s robust authority \u2014 most notably on Money Bills \u2014 its unique functional constituencies for graduates and teachers reflect an attempt to bring specialised, non-partisan expertise into lawmaking.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As debates over its utility continue in states like Tamil Nadu, the Council\u2019s survival ultimately hinges on a political calculation: whether the value of deliberative scrutiny outweighs the cost of maintaining a second chamber with limited veto power.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-politics\/mlc-elections-not-all-indian-states-council-what-do-10934139\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legislative Councils in India provide a second legislative chamber in six states. Learn about their powers, composition, MLC elections and constitutional provisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":130372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[11120,60,22,59],"class_list":["post-130362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-legislative-councils-in-india","tag-mains-articles","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130362"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130383,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130362\/revisions\/130383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}