Parliament of India

The Parliament of India (or Sansad) is bicameral. It is located in New Delhi at Sansad Marg. This is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India.

Composition

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha has 552 members as of now. The number of members in Lok Sabha is regulated by Article 81 of the Constitution of India. It has a term of 5 years (it may be dissolved earlier by the President in the event of no party getting a majority). 550 members are directly elected by the people in a general election.

Related Topics:
Constitution of India - Election

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• 530 members are elected from the States.
• 20 members are elected from the Union territories.
• 2 members of the Anglo-Indian community are nominated by the President if he is of the opinion that they are not adequately represented.

The representatives from States and Union Territories are directly elected by the people on the basis of adult suffrage. Every citizen who is over 18 years of age and is not disqualified from voting(for reasons like unsoundness of mind, crime, corruption, illegal practice etc.) is eligible to vote.

Related Topics:
Adult suffrage - Crime - Corruption

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There is reservation of some seats for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but not for members of any other community.

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Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha has 250 members in all. It is a permanent body i.e. it can never be dissolved. Each member has a term of 6 years and elections are held for one-third of the seats after every 2 years. The composition is specified in Article 80 of the Constitution of India.

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• 12 members are nominated by the President from people having special knowledge or experience in literature, science, art or social service.
• Representatives of States are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the State in accordance with system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
• Representatives of Union Territories are indirectly elected by members of an electoral college for that territory in accordance with system of proportional representation.

The Council of States is designed to maintain the federal character of the country. The number of members from a state depends on the population of the state (e.g. 31 from Uttar Pradesh and 1 from Nagaland).

Related Topics:
Federal - Population - Uttar Pradesh - Nagaland

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