GS Paper II

News Excerpt:

The Election Commission notified elections to 56 Rajya Sabha seats that will be held on February 27.

About the news:

• The nomination process will begin on February 8 with the issuance of the notification.
• February 15 will be the last date for filing nominations, while February 20 is the last date to withdraw candidature.

Rajya Sabha - Electorate and Term of Office:

• Rajya Sabha is a permanent House and is not subject to dissolution.
• To ensure continuity, one-third of its members retire after every second year, under Article 83(1) of the Constitution, and “biennial elections” are held to fill these vacancies.
• The term of a member is six years.
• The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for the allocation of Rajya Sabha seats to the states and Union Territories on the basis of the population of each state.
• Out of the 245 members, the President nominates 12, and 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry.
• Under Article 80(3), the 12 nominated members should have special knowledge or practical experience in matters like literature, science, art, etc.
• A nominated member may join a party within six months of taking a seat.
• Article 80(4) provides that the elected members of state Assemblies shall elect Rajya Sabha members.
• Vacancies that arise due to resignation, death or disqualification are filled up through by-polls, after which those elected serve out the remainder of their predecessor’s term.

Voting Process and Proportional Representation System:

• Voting is by single transferable vote, as the election is based on proportional representation.
• A single transferable vote means electors can vote for any number of candidates in order of their preference.
• A bloc of MPs belonging to one or more parties can elect a member of their choice if they have the requisite numbers.
• This is to avoid the principle of majority, which would mean that only candidates put up by ruling parties in the respective States will be elected.
• The number of votes a candidate requires depends on the number of vacancies and the strength of the House.
• If there is only one vacancy, the required quota under the Election Commission’s Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, is calculated by taking the number of votes polled, dividing it by 2, and adding 1.
• For example, if 100 votes are polled in an Assembly, the Rajya Sabha candidate would need 100/2 + 1 = 51 votes
• If there is more than one vacancy, the equation is based on an assigned value of 100 for every first-preference vote. The values of the votes credited to all candidates are totalled. The total is divided by 1 more than the number of vacancies, and 1 is added to this quotient.
• For example, if 100 members of an Assembly vote for 3 Rajya Sabha vacancies, the required quota by any candidate would be (100 × 100)/(3 + 1) + 1 = 2501
• If, for any seat, candidates fail to get the specified number, the second-preference votes will be taken into account, but with a lower value.

Open ballot system:

• As a measure to check rampant cross-voting, which was taken to mean that the vote had been purchased by corrupt means, each party MLA shows their marked ballots to the party’s authorised agent before they are put into the ballot box.
• Showing a marked ballot to anyone other than one’s own party’s authorised agent will render the vote invalid.
• Not showing the ballot to the authorised agent will also mean the vote cannot be counted.
• Independent candidates are barred from showing their ballots to anyone.

Cross-voting and Disqualification:

• The Supreme Court, while declining to interfere with the open ballot system, ruled that not voting for the party candidate will not attract disqualification under the anti-defection law.
• As voters, MLAs retain their freedom to vote for a candidate of their choice.
• However, the Court observed that since the party would know who voted against its own candidate, it is free to take disciplinary action against the legislator concerned.

None of the above (NOTA) Option:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued two circulars in 2014 and 2015, giving Rajya Sabha members the option to press the NOTA button.
• However, in 2018, the Supreme Court of India struck down the provision, holding that the “none of the above” option is only for general elections held on the basis of universal adult suffrage and cannot be applied to indirect elections based on proportional representation.

Can a legislator vote without taking oath as a member of the Assembly?

• The Supreme Court has ruled that a member can vote in a Rajya Sabha election even before taking oath as a legislator. It said that -
• Voting at the Rajya Sabha polls, being a non-legislative activity, can be performed without taking oath.
• A person becomes a member when the ECI notifies the list of elected members.
• A member can also propose a candidate before taking oath.

Beyond passing Bills, why do Rajya Sabha numbers matter?

• Rajya Sabha enjoys some special powers. If it passes a resolution by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, Parliament becomes empowered to make a law on the subject in the State List.
• Such a resolution remains in force for a maximum of one year, but this period can be extended one year at a time by passing a similar resolution.
• A similar route can be adopted to recommend creating one or more All India Services common to the Union and the states.
• Also, Rajya Sabha has a role to play if the President issues proclamations in the event of national emergency, in the event of failure of constitutional machinery in a State, or in the case of financial emergency.
• Every such proclamation has to be approved by both Houses of Parliament within a stipulated period.
• If a proclamation is issued at a time when Lok Sabha has been dissolved, or the dissolution of Lok Sabha takes place within the period allowed for its approval, then the proclamation remains effective if the resolution approving it is passed by Rajya Sabha within the period specified under Articles 352, 356 and 360 of the Constitution.