Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council

TDP (24)
BJP (1)
YSR Congress (5)
PDF (6)
Congress (7)
PRTU (2)
CPI (1)
Nominated (8)

The Legislative Council of Andhra Pradesh (or the Andhra Pradesh Vidhan Parishad) is the upper house of the legislature of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh; the lower house being the Andhra Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. It is situated in the state capital of Hyderabad, and has 58 members. The Vidhan Parishad has been in existence in two spells - from 1958 to 1985, and from 2007 till date.

History

In the first years since its creation in post-independence India, the state of Andhra Pradesh worked under a unicameral parliamentary system. On December 5, 1956 the Andhra Pradesh Vidhana Sabha passed a resolution calling for the creation of an upper house, the Vidhan Parishad, to transition to a bicameral system.^[1] The Vidhan Parishad was formed officially on July 1, 1958 under article 168 of the Constitution of India. The first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the Vidhan Parishad on July 8.^[1]

Abolition

In the 1980s, Andhra Pradesh became one of the first states to seek the abolition of the upper houses, which were being increasingly criticised as being unnecessary, unrepresentative of the population, a burden on the state budget and causing delays in passing legislation.^[1][2][3][4] However, the move was criticised as an attempt by the then-ruling party, the Telegu Desam Party (TDP), to deny their main political opposition, the Indian National Congress (then Congress (I)) of influence in the state government and the control of the upper house, which could delay TDP-sponsored legislation and where the TDP held no seats.^[4] In accordance with a resolution passed by the Andhra Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, the Indian Parliament abolished the Vidhan Parishad through the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council (Abolition) Act in 1985, after the Congress (I) suffered a major defeat in the state elections in Andhra Pradesh.^[1][4]

Revival

Subsequent attempts were made to revive the Legislative Council under Chief Minister Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy, who belonged to the Congress (I), which had won the state elections in 1989.^[1][4] A resolution to revive the Legislative Council was passed in the Vidhan Sabha on January 22, 1990.^[1] The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, passed legislation authorising the revival of the Legislative Council as per the resolution of the state Vidhan Sabha on May 28, 1990, but the legislation stalled in the lower house, the Lok Sabha, primarily due to its dissolution in 1991 before the completion of its five-year term.^[1] The subsequent Lok Sabhas (1991–1996, 1996–1998, 1998–2004) did not take any further action.

After its victory in the 2004 state elections, the Congress-led Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed another resolution on July 8, 2004 calling for the revival of the Legislative Council.^[1] This time it was introduced in the Lok Sabha as the Andhra Pradesh Council Bill on December 16, 2004. On December 15, 2006 the Lok Sabha passed the legislation, which was quickly passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 20, and received the assent of the President on January 10, 2007.^[1] The newly revived Legislative Council was constituted on March 30, 2007 and inaugurated on April 2 by Rameshwar Thakur, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.^[1]

Designations and present members

The Chairperson, elected by the Council, presides over the sessions of the Council.^[1] A Deputy Chairperson is also elected to preside in the Chairperson's absence. The current officials are:^[5]

Membership and tenure

The Legislative Council is a permanent house, not subject to dissolution.^[1] Its 58 members serve six-year terms, and every two years, one-third of the total number of members "retire" in rotation, and undergo the re-election process.^[1] To become a member, the individual must be a citizen of India and at least 30 years of age. 8 members of the Council are nominated by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. 40 members are elected by an electoral college of the Legislative Assembly and local governing bodies. The 10 remaining members would be elected from constituencies of college graduates and teachers.^[6]

Elected by the Legislative Assembly members

Elected from Graduates' constituencies

Elected from Teachers' constituencies

Elected from Local Authorities' constituencies

Nominated

Functions

The Legislative Council is charged with fewer functions compared to the lower house. Although all legislation passed by the lower house must be similarly passed by the Council, it plays a largely advisory role.^[1]

Designations and present members

The Chairperson, elected by the Council, presides over the sessions of the Council.^[1] A Deputy Chairperson is also elected to preside in the Chairperson's absence. The current officials are:^[5]

References

Legislatures of India
British Raj	Council of India Imperial Legislative Council Council of State Central Legislative Assembly Chamber of Princes Constituent Assembly of India
Sansad	Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha
Vidhan Sabha	Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh National Capital Territory of Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Puducherry Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal
Vidhan Parishad	Andhra Pradesh Bihar Jammu and Kashmir Karnataka Maharashtra Telangana Uttar Pradesh