The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023, it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots, while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social service. The total allowed capacity is 250 according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution. The current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245, after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.
Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna was an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2009 to October 2012. He was the 10th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the 19th Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008. SM Krishna had served as the Speaker of the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha from December 1989 to January 1993. He was also a member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at various times from 1971 to 2014. He is widely credited with putting Bengaluru on the world map by building the foundation for making it the IT Hub that it is today during his tenure as Chief Minister. In 2023, Krishna was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award of India.
India has a parliamentary system as defined by its constitution, with power distributed between the union government and the states. India's democracy is the largest democracy in the world.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a state political party in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The PDP was headed and founded by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. His daughter, Mehbooba Mufti, succeeded him as party leader and as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir following his death in January 2016. The party is a member of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration electoral alliance. The party is also a member of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance since its founding on 18 June 2023.
Sarbananda Sonowal is an Indian politician who has served as Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways since 2021. He also has been the Member of the Rajya Sabha representing Assam since 2021 and also a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs since 2021. He previously served as the 14th Chief Minister of Assam from 2016 to 2021 and as a member of Assam Legislative Assembly for Majuli from 2016 to 2021 and for Moran from 2001 to 2004. Sonowal earlier served as the Assam state unit President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2016. He also served as the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of India, from 2014 to 2016 and the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development from 2014 to 2014 and the member of the Lok Sabha from Lakhimpur from 2014 to 2016 and from Dibrugarh from 2004 to 2009. He was also the member of the Asom Gana Parishad from 2001 to 2011.
General elections were held in India between 25 October 1951 and 21 February 1952, the first national elections after India attained independence in 1947. Voters elected 489 members of the first Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. Elections to most of the state legislatures were held simultaneously.
Sharad Yadav was an Indian politician from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times and to the Rajya Sabha four times from JD(U). He was the first national president of Janata Dal (United), serving from its formation in 2003 until 2016. He was disqualified from the Rajya Sabha in 2017 and removed from party leadership positions for engaging in anti-party activities.
Neeraj Shekhar Singh is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was a Lok Sabha MP for 2 terms and a Rajya Sabha MP as a Samajwadi Party member. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019 and became a Rajya Sabha MP again.
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee.
N. K. Premachandran is an Indian politician who is a member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party. He is presently a member of Lok Sabha representing Kollam Lok Sabha constituency.
Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge is an Indian lawyer and politician serving as the President of the Indian National Congress since 2022, and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha since 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Karnataka since 2020.
Shrimant Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosle is an Indian politician serving as a member of the Loksabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India, from Maharashtra since 2024 from Satara. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Parvathi Krishnan was an Indian politician from the Communist Party of India. She was a three time former Member of Parliament representing Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency and Rajya Sabha member. She was the daughter of former Madras Presidency Premier P. Subbarayan.
Renuka Chowdhury is an Indian politician and a member of the Rajya Sabha representing Indian National Congress. she represented the political party in the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh and currently in Telangana. She has also served as the Union minister of State for Ministry of Women and Child Development and Tourism in the Government of India.
Ajay Maken is a politician from the Indian National Congress party. He is the treasurer of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). A three time member of the Parliament of India and three time MLA, Delhi Legislative Assembly, formerly a minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a minister in the cabinet of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Jagat Prakash "J. P." Nadda is an Indian lawyer and politician who is serving as the 34th Minister of Health, 25th Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers since 2024 and 11th President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2020 and the member of the Rajya Sabha representing Gujarat since 2024. A key decision maker of the BJP, he is a close aide to Narendra Modi. He was the BJP's working president from 2019 to 2020. Nadda was also the Minister of Health and Family Welfare in the first Modi ministry from 2014 to 2019 and Parliamentary Board Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party. Nadda is the Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers in the third Modi ministry.
Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy is an Indian Politician who served as the Member of Parliament to the 16th Lok Sabha from Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. He won the 2014 Indian General Elections being a Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party Candidate. In 2019, he has been appointed as the Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which is equivalent to Minister rank in Andhra Pradesh Government.
A Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha is the representative of a legislative constituency in the Lok Sabha; the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of parliament of Lok Sabha are chosen by direct elections on the basis of the adult suffrage. The maximum permitted strength of members of parliament in the Lok Sabha is 550. This includes the maximum 530 members to represent the constituencies and states and up to 20 members to represent the union territories. Between 1952 and January 25, 2020, two seats were reserved for members of the Anglo-Indian community. The current elected strength of the Lok Sabha is 543. The party—or coalition of parties—having a majority in the Lok Sabha chooses the Prime Minister of India.
Rajya Sabha elections were held on three dates in 2014, to elect members of the Rajya Sabha, Indian Parliament's upper chamber. The elections were held in February, June, and November to elect respectively 55, 6, and 11 of its 245 members, from 16 of the States. They are held by an open ballot on a single transferable vote (STV) basis among State legislators. Being even-numbered, 2014 was a year in which about 30% of the State Legislature-elected 233-seat component of the body is elected.
