Frequently Asked Questions
about Indian Parliament

The composition of
Parliament of India

According to Article 79 of the Consti-
tution of India, the Parliament con-
sists of President of India and the two
Houses of Parliament known as Coun-
cil of States (Rajya Sabha) and House
of the People (Lok Sabha).

Who elects the

President of India?

The President is elected by the mem-
bers of an electoral college consist-
ing of the elected members of both
the Houses of Parliament and the
elected members of the Legislative
Assemblies of States and the Union
Territories of Delhi and Pondicherry.

What is the maximum
number of members of
Rajya Sabha?

The maximum number of members
of Rajya Sabha can be 250.

What is the present strength
of the Rajya Sabha,
including the nominated
members?

The present strength of Rajya Sabha
is 245 (233 elected and 12 nomi-
nated).

What is the life of

Rajya Sabha?

Rajya Sabha is a Permanent House
and is not subject to dissolution as
per Article 83 (1) of the Constitution
of India. But as nearly as possible,
one third of its members shall retire
every 2nd year and an equal number
of members are chosen to replace
them.

Who elects the members of
the Rajya Sabha?

Elected members of the State Legis-
lative Assemblies Article 80(4) of
Constitution of India provides that
members of Rajya Sabha shall be

4 INDIA NEWS © October 1, 1999

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elected by the elected members of
State Legislative Assemblies through
the system of proportional represen-
tation by means of the single trans-
ferable vote.

Who nominates the
members of the Rajya
Sabha?

The President of India nominates 12
members of Rajya Sabha.

Is there any special
qualification for
nomination?

Article 80 (3) of the Constitution of
India provides that the members to
be nominated by the President to
Rajya Sabha should have special
knowledge or practical experience in
matters like literature, science, art and
social service. Article 84 (b) stipu-
lates that a person shall be of not less
than 30 (Thirty) years of age.

What is the term of Lok
Sabha?

Article 83 (2) of the Constitution
stipulates that Lok Sabha shall have
a normal term of 5 years from the
date appointed for its first meeting
and no longer. However, the Presi-
dent may dissolve the House earlier.
For instance, the present Lok Sabha
was dissolved on April 26, 1999, al-
though it had not completed its nor-
mal term of 5 years.

What can be the maximum
number of members of the
Lok Sabha?

The maximum number of elected
members of Lok Sabha is 550. Ar-
ticle 81 of the Constitution provides
that not more than 530 members will
be elected from the States and not
more than 20 members from Union
Territories. Article 331 of the Consti-
tution provides that not more than 2
members from the Ango Indian Com-

munity may be nominated by the
President of India, if in his opinion
that community is not adequately
represented in that House.

What is the present strength
of the Lok Sabha?
The present strength of Lok Sabha is
543 elected members.

How are the members of
Lok Sabha elected?

Under Sec 14 of Representation of
People Act 1951, the President of
India by a notification will call upon
the constituencies to elect their mem-
bers to the House of People. There-
after the electors of the Parliamen-
tary Constituencies will directly elect
the Lok Sabha members. As per ar-
ticle 326 of the Constitution of India,
elections to the House of the People
shall be on the basis of adult suf-
frage.

How many members

are elected by the electors
of a Parliamentary
Constituency?

Each Parliamentary Constituency will
elect only one member.

What is the number of the
present general election to
Lok Sabha?

This General Election being held in
September-October 1999 is the 13th
general election to constitute the 13th
Lok Sabha.

When was the Ist general
election held in India?

The first general election was held in
India during 1951-1952.

At that time, what was the
total strength of the Lok
Sabha?

The total strength of Lok Sabha at
that time was 489.