Rajya Sabha: India's Council of States – Composition, Powers, and Relevance

[music] Hello and welcome back to yet another session. I am Dr. Nhayadav back with you

for our special deep dive into Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament often called the Council of

States or House of Elders. And today we are going to explore every fascinating detail of this permanent sophisticated

chamber that provides continuity, federal wisdom and democratic balance to

our nation's law makingaking process. While fury Lok Sabha grabs headlines with its dramatic debates and elections,

Rajya Sabha operates with quite authority as the steady hand guiding India's federal character, ensuring no

single election cycle can derail long-term national policy. And over the next few minutes, I'll take you through

its unique composition, election process, powers, recent controversies, and why this 245 member house remains

absolutely vital to our constitutional democracy. Let's begin with composition and

structure. Rajya Sabha has a maximum strength of 245 members comprising 233 members

elected by the legislative assemblies of state and union territories plus 12 members that are nominated by the

president for their distinguished contribution to arts, literature, science, social service and public life.

Legendary figures like Sachin Tendulkar who served from 2012 to 2018 or the recent nominees like eminent economist

Bbeek De. Unlike Lok Sabha's direct public elections, Rajya Sabha uses proportional

representation through single transferable vote system where each state's assembly members vote secretly

using their preference order ensuring small parties get fair representation. Uttar Pradesh elects 31 members, Tamil

Nadu 18, Sikkim just one. Perfectly reflecting India's federal diversity with seats allocated based on population

but never less than one per state. Here's the genius design. Rajya Sabha is permanent and never

dissolves completely because members serve six years staggered term with onethird retiring every 2 years. So even

if Lok Sabha dissolves for general elections, Rajya Sabha continues functioning providing legislative

continuity that's crucial for during election periods or national emergencies.

Currently as of January 2026, Rajya Sabha has 233 elected plus 12 nominated members, 245 total members

with BJP holding around 85 seats, Congress 40, regional heavyweights like DMK 23 and independent nominated members

ensuring no single party dominance. The average age hovers around 65 years compared to Lok Sabha's youthful 55

earning its elders reputation where seasoned politicians, former chief minister and subject experts deliberate

with maturity. Leadership structure centers around the vice president of India who serve as the

ex official chairman of Raja Sabha. Currently the chairman who's been making waves since 2022 with his strict

procedural rulings. The chairman maintains order decides which bills are money bills. It's a very crucial part.

It conducts voting and interpret rules. Dhanker grabbed headlines in December 2025 winter session when he suspended

146 opposition MPs, the highest single session suspension in the history of parliament

for allegedly disruptions during Adani bribery allegation debates sparking massive controversy with a position

calling it undemocratic murder of debate. While treasury benches praised

discipline restoration and elected deputy chairman currently Hari Narayan Singh assists elected internally by

Rajya Sabha member for 2 years term. Now let's explore powers and functions where Rajya Sabha shines differently from Lok

Sabha. While it shares ordinary legislative powers equally on union and concurrent

list subjects like education, forest and marriage laws, Rajya Sabha has limited but strategic financial power because

money bills originate exclusively in Lok Sabha under article 109. When a money bill reaches Rajya Sabha, it can only

recommend changes which Lok Sabha can accept or reject and Rajya Sabha has just 14 days to send the recommendations

back. If it does not act, the bill is deemed passed automatically.

This design ensures the directly elected people's house maintains financial supremacy while upper house provides

expert review. Recent example is during 2026 union budget deliberations Raja Sabha

recommended increasing rural housing allocation by 10% which Lok Sabha partially accepted showing productive

collaboration. Rajya Sabha holds veto power on ordinary bills. If there's disagreement between

houses, the president calls joint sitting under article 108 where Lok Sabha's numerical strength usually

prevails. It was famously used for GST bill 2016 where Lok Sabha's steamrolled

amendments. Rajya Sabha also plays critical constitutional roles. It can initiate

constitutional amendment bills under article 368 requiring special majority. It

participates in electing president and vice president. Approves all India services creation and ratifies emergency

proclamations without Rajya Sabha approval. President's rule in states lapses after two months.

Most importantly, Rajya Sabha protects state interest through resolution on union territories and federal disputes

acting as the federal conscience of Indian parliament. Election process deserves special

attention because it's India's most sophisticated democratic mechanism. State Assembly MLA's vote using single

transferable vote with proportional representation where each MLA gets votes proportional to their states Rajya Sabha

seats. A Kerala MLA might get nine votes for its nine seats. Candidates need minimum

votes kota calculated as total valid votes divided by the seats plus one and excess votes transfers to second

preference ensuring even small parties win. Crossoting scandals erupted regularly like 2024 Maharashtra Raj

Sabha elections where NCP factions voted strategically causing dramatic upsets. Bional elections fill retiring seats

while by elections fill vacancies from resignation or disqualification under the 10th schedule as

anti-defectionection law. Recent controversies highlight Raja Sabha's relevance. 2025 winter session

saw unprecedented 45% productivity due to wak amendment bill protests where opposition stalled proceedings seven

times demanding minority protections. Jagde Dhungar's controversial money bill rulings on Delhi service bill sparked

Supreme Court challenges arguing procedural violations cross voting bribery allocations in

Himachal Pradesh in 2024 elections it led to assembly crisis showing Rajya Sabha elections impact state politics

positively Raja Sabha passed digital personal data protection bill 2026 Six after 18 months scrutiny providing

expert amendments to Lok Sabha which Lok Sabha adopted procedural uniqueness includes questionnaire 140 questions per

session versus Lok Sabha's 37 375 zer for urgent matters short duration discussions and calling attention motion

Raja Sabha pioneered motion of grave concern special powers include clude creating

all India services, IPS, electoral colleges for president and ratifying international treaties.

Raja Sabha alone can discuss foreign policy comprehensively. Some fun facts to remember is Raja

Sabha's largest ever strength was 250 members. First woman member was Rajkumari Amritk in 1950. The longest

serving member was 50 plus years. Late wiggiri current women representation stands at 11% 27 members

pushing for nari shaki implementation. Sansa TV Raja Sabha channel crossed 50 million downloads by January 2026 with

AI powered proceedings summary pilot launched in December 2025. Now can Rajya Sabha block a money bill

permanently? What's the 14-day rule? Which house elects the president

jointly? Well, these questions are for you to ponder upon. Learners, Rajya Sabha is not second

fiddle. It is India's federal guardian providing wisdom, continuity and state voices in

national decisions. From GST passage to data privacy laws, its expert deliberations shape better

legislation. Thank you for listening.