Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha राज्य सभा Council of States
Emblem of India
Type
Type	Upper house of the Parliament of India
Leadership
Chairman (Vice-President)	Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Ind. Since 11 August 2007
Deputy Chairman	P. J. Kurien, INC Since 21 August 2012
Leader of the House	Arun Jaitley, BJP Since 2 June 2014
Leader of the Opposition	Ghulam Nabi Azad, INC Since 8 June 2014
Structure
Seats	245 total 233 Elected 12 Nominated 2 Vacant (2 Elected Seats) A maximum of 250 allowed in the Constitution
Political groups	Government coalition (74) (National Democratic Alliance) (74)      BJP (56)      TDP (6)      Akali Dal (3)      Shiv Sena (3)      JKPDP (2)      Bodoland Peoples Fr. (1)      Nagaland Peoples Fr. (1)      RPI(A) (1)      Sikkim Dem. Front (1) Opposition Parties (171) United Progressive Alliance (65)      Congress (59)      DMK (4)      IUML (1)      KC(M) (1) Janata Parivar Parties (15)      JD(U) (10)      RJD (3)      INLD (1)      JD(S) (1) Unaligned Parties (75)      Samajwadi Party (18)      AIADMK (13)      AITC (11)      BJD (8)      CPI(M) (8)      BSP (6)      NCP (5)      TRS (3)      CPI (1)      JMM (1)      YSRCP (1) Others (16)      Nominated (8)      Independents (6)      Vacant (2)
Elections
Voting system	Single transferable vote
Last election	14 March and 11 June, 2016
Next election	June and July, 2017
Meeting place
Chamber of Rajya Sabha, Sansad Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi, India
Website
rajyasabha.nic.in

Coordinates: 28°37′0″N 77°12′30″E / 28.61667°N 77.20833°E / 28.61667; 77.20833

245 total

Government coalition (74)
(National Democratic Alliance) (74)

Opposition Parties (171)
United Progressive Alliance (65)

Janata Parivar Parties (15)

Unaligned Parties (75)

Others (16)

The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Membership of Rajya Sabha is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of 250 members, and current laws have provision for 245 members. Most of the members of the House are indirectly elected by state and territorial legislatures using single transferable votes, while the President can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. Members sit for staggered six-year terms, with one third of the members retiring every two years.

The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous sessions, and unlike the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, is not subject to dissolution. However, the Rajya Sabha, like the Lok Sabha can be prorogued by the President. The Rajya Sabha has equal footing in all areas of legislation with Lok Sabha, except in the area of supply, where the Lok Sabha has overriding powers. In the case of conflicting legislation, a joint sitting of the two houses can be held. However, since the Lok Sabha has twice as many members as the Rajya Sabha, the former would normally hold the greater power. Joint sittings of the Houses of Parliament of India are rare, and in the history of the Republic, only three such joint-sessions have been held; the latest one for the passage of the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act.