State legislative councils of India

To become a member of a State Legislative Council (MLC), a person must be a citizen of India, at least 30 years old, mentally sound, not an insolvent, and must be enrolled 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 and Member of the State Legislative Assembly at the same time.

The tenure of the MLCs are six years. One-third of the members of State Legislative Council retire after every two years. This arrangement parallels that for the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.[1]

The size of the State Legislative Council cannot be more than one third of the membership of the State Legislative Assembly. However, its size cannot be less than 40 members. These members elect the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the State Legislative Council.

MLCs are chosen in the following manner:[1]

• One third are elected by the members of local bodies such as municipalities, Gram panchayats, Panchayat samitis and district councils.
• One third are elected by the members of Legislative Assembly of the State from among the persons who are not members of the State Legislative Assembly.
• One sixth are nominated by the Governor from persons having knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, arts, the co-operative movement and social services.
• One twelfth are elected by persons who are graduates of three years' standing residing in that state.
• One twelfth are elected by teachers who had spent at least three years in teaching in educational institutions within the state not lower than secondary schools, including colleges and universities.

The Constitution of India gives limited power to the State Legislative Council. The State Legislative Council can neither form or dissolve a state government. The State Legislative Council also have no role in the passing of money bills. But some of the powers it has is that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the State Legislative Council enjoy the same status of Cabinet Ministers in the state.[1]

As of January 2020, 6 out of the 28 states have State Legislative Council [1]

State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)	Image	List of constituencies	Seat/state capital	Number of constituencies			Ruling party
				Elected	Nominated	Total
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council		List	Amaravati	50	8	58		YSR Congress Party
Bihar Legislative Council		List	Patna	63	12	75		Janata Dal (United)
Karnataka Legislative Council		List	Bangalore (summer) Belgaum (winter)	64	11	75		Bharatiya Janata Party
Maharashtra Legislative Council		List	Mumbai (summer) Nagpur (winter)	66	12	78		Shiv Sena
Telangana Legislative Council		List	Hyderabad	34	6	40		Telangana Rashtra Samithi
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council		List	Lucknow	90	10	100		Bharatiya Janata Party
Total	—	—	—	367	59	426	—

According to the Article 169 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament of India can create or abolish the State Legislative Council of a state if that state's legislature passes a resolution for that with a special majority. Many Legislative Councils were abolished since Independence. For example, the West Bengal Legislative Council was abolished in 1969. Another example is that of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council which was abolished in 1985, but was formed again in 2007.[1][3]

The existence of a State Legislative Council has proven politically controversial. A number of states that have had their Legislative Council abolished have subsequently requested its re-establishment; conversely, proposals for the re-establishment of the Legislative 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.

The Legislative Councils are criticised for being unnecessary. It is considered a burden on the state budget and cause delays in passing legislations.[1]

• State Legislature
• Upper house
• Rajya Sabha
• Council of State
• Legislative council
• State governments of India
• Politics of India