The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023, it has a maximum membership of 250, of which 238 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, 2019, the seats came down to 245. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President of India, in their role as head of the legislature, has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha, but they can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and their Union Council of Ministers.
Shankarrao Bhavrao Chavan was an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Maharashtra twice from 1975 until 1977 and from 13 March 1986 until 26 June 1988. He was the finance minister of India from 1988 to 1989 in Rajiv Gandhi ministry. He also served as the home minister of India twice, from 31 December 1984 to 12 March 1986 in the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet, and from 21 June 1991 to 16 May 1996 in the P. V. Narasimha Rao cabinet.
The Government of India, also known as the Central Government or union government, is the national authority of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, consisting of 28 union states and eight union territories.
The vice president of India is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency. The vice president is also the ex officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
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 speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections. Serving for a term of five years, the speaker is chosen from sitting members of the Lok Sabha. The longest-serving speaker was Balram Jakhar, whose tenure lasted 9 years and 329 days.
Punjala Shiv Shankar was an Indian politician. He served as the Minister of External Affairs, Law, and Petroleum. He was a very influential minister in Indira Gandhi's and Rajiv Gandhi's cabinets and was one of the most senior politicians in India. He also served as Governor of Sikkim from 1994 to 1995 and Governor of Kerala from 1995 to 1996.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi is an Indian senior advocate and politician. As politician, he is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) and a current Member of the Parliament of India representing West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. He is also a spokesperson for the INC. He is one of the senior advocates of the Supreme Court of India.
Pallath Joseph Kurien is an Indian politician, a social worker and educationist. He was the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, till his retirement on 30 June 2018. A leader of the Indian National Congress party, Kurien previously served as a Union Minister in the P. V. Narasimha Rao government and was a member of the Lok Sabha for four consecutive terms from 1980 to 1999.
The Government of Uttar Pradesh is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of India. The Governor of Uttar Pradesh is appointed for a period of five years and appoints the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and their council of ministers, who are vested with the executive powers of the state. The governor remains a ceremonial head of the state, while the chief minister and their council are responsible for day-to-day government functions.
A Lokpal is an anti-corruption authority or body of ombudsman who represents the public interest in the Republic of India. The current Chairperson of Lokpal is Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar. The Lokpal has jurisdiction over central government to inquire into allegations of corruption against its public functionaries and for matters connected to corruption. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013 with amendments in parliament, following the Jan Lokpal movement led by Anna Hazare in 2010. The Lokpal is responsible for enquiring into corruption charges at the national level while the Lokayukta performs the same function at the state level. The age of Lokpal on the date of assuming office as the chairperson or a member should not be less than 45 years.
Ranganath Mishra was the 21st Chief Justice of India, serving from 25 September 1990 to 24 November 1991. He was also the first chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He also served as Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from the Congress Party between 1998 and 2004. He is the second Supreme court judge to become a Rajya Sabha member after Baharul Islam who was also elected as Indian National Congress member.
Fali Sam Nariman was an Indian jurist. He was a senior advocate to the Supreme Court of India from 1971 and was the President of the Bar Association of India from 1991 to 2010. Nariman was an internationally recognised jurist on international arbitration. He was honoured with the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2018. He was one of India's most distinguished constitutional lawyers and argued several leading cases. He was the Additional Solicitor General of India from May 1972 to June 1975.
Tamil Nadu has a parliamentary system as defined by its constitution, with power distributed between the state government and the districts.
Paul Daniel Dinakaran Premkumar was the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court. He resigned from the post following allegations of corruption and subsequent removal proceedings.
Soumitra Sen is a former judge of the Calcutta High Court. He was the first judge in independent India whose removal motion was passed in Rajya Sabha for misappropriation of funds.
Raghav Chadha is an Indian politician and a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is the youngest Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Punjab constituency. He was the former Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board and MLA from the Rajendra Nagar assembly constituency in Delhi till 2022. Chadha has been elected as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He is also a practising chartered accountant.
Baharul Islam was an Indian politician and judge of the Supreme Court of India. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India as a member of the Indian National Congress. In 1972 he resigned from the Rajya Sabha to become a judge in the Gauhati High Court after retiring from the role of chief justice of the Gauhati High Court. He was later recalled and made a Judge of the Supreme court. In that position he passed a judgement absolving the then-Chief Minister of Bihar Jagannath Mishra in the urban cooperative bank scandal. He later resigned from the Supreme court to contest elections as a Congress party candidate and was elected back to the Rajya Sabha.
Venumbaka Vijayasai Reddy is a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha; Parliamentary Party Leader for the YSR Congress Party; The National General Secretary of YSR Congress Party. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession. Until 2022, he was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture. He has been thrice nominated for the Panel of Vice-Chairpersons, Rajya Sabha and is a Member of the Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha. He currently serves as the YSRCP Regional Coordinator for the districts of Joint Prakasam, Joint Nellore, Bapatla, and Narasa Raopet.
