Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
6 years
History
Founded1 July 1958 – 31 May 1982;
30 March 2007 – present
Preceded byAndhra State Legislative Council
Leadership
Deputy Chairman
Leader of the House (Chief Minister)
Leader of the Opposition
Structure
Seats58 (50 Elected + 8 Nominated)
Political groups
Government (46)
  •   YSRCP (39)
  •   IND (4)

Opposition (12)

  •   TDP (10)
  •   PDF (2)

Vacant (1)

Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
13 March 2023
Next election
March 2025
Meeting place
Council Building
Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India
Website
www.aplegislature.org/web/legislative-council

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council or Āndhra Pradēś Śāsana Maṇḍali is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state, Andhra Pradesh.

It is situated in the state Legislative capital of Amaravati comprising a total of 58 seats.[1] The Sasana Mandali has been in existence in two spells - from 1958 to 1985, and from 2007 continuing till today.

History

In the first years since its creation in post-independence India, the state of Andhra Pradesh worked under a unicameral parliamentary system. On 5 December 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. The members of the majority party/coalition in the lower house would be the ruling party of the upper house, regardless of number. The house will have a chairman who conducts day-to-day affairs, rather than a speaker.[2] The Vidhan Parishad was formed officially on 1 July 1958 under article 168 of the Constitution of India. The first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the Vidhan Parishad on 8 July 1958.[2]

Abolition in 1980

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.[2][3][4][5] However, the move was criticised by the opposition's as an attempt by the then-ruling party, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), to deny their main political opposition, the Indian National 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.[5] 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.[2][5]

Revival in 2007

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.[2][5] A resolution to revive the Legislative Council was passed in the Vidhan Sabha on 22 January 1990.[2] 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 28 May 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.[2] The subsequent Lok Sabhas did not take any further decision or action.

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

Second abolition proposed in 2020

The ruling YSR Congress Party made and passed the resolution for abolition of the Legislative Council in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly[6] on 27 January 2020 to make way for the YSRCP-sponsored capital decentralization bill which has been stalled by the opposition TDP which had majority in the council, as the chairman decided to send the two bills pertaining to the decentralization of the capital that are the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020 and the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Act, 2020 to a select committee.[7][8][9][10]

The resolution was later withdrawn by the ruling YSRCP as it gained a majority by then in the council making a way to pass it's sponsored bills[11] and with no response from the Parliament of India regarding the decision to abolish the council.[12][13]

Composition

The chairman, elected by the council, presides over the sessions of the council. The deputy chairman is also elected to preside in the chairman's absence.[14][15]

Presiding officers

Designation Name
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer
Chairman Koyye Moshenu Raju
(YSRCP)
Deputy Chairman Zakia Khanam
(YSRCP)
Leader of the House
(Chief Minister)
Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy
(YSRCP)
Leader of the Opposition Yanamala Rama Krishnudu
(TDP)

Members

Party Members
YSR Congress Party 43
Telugu Desam Party 8
Progressive Democratic Front 2
Independent 4
Total 58

See also

References

  1. ^ "YSRCP all set to capture 23 Upper House seats this year". Hindustan Times. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council History". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  3. ^ Sharma. Introduction to the Constitution of India, Fifth Edition. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 212–13. ISBN 978-81-203-3674-2.
  4. ^ Laxmikanth (2010). Indian Polity For UPSC 3E. Tata McGraw-Hill. pp. 27–1. ISBN 978-0-07-015316-5.
  5. ^ a b c d Agarala Easwara Reddy (1994). State politics in India: reflections on Andhra Pradesh. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 97–110. ISBN 978-81-85880-51-8.
  6. ^ "Andhra Assembly withdraws resolution to abolish Legislative Council". The Indian Express. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  7. ^ Standard, Business (23 January 2020). "YSRCP leaders stage protest against Chandrababu Naidu in Visakhapatnam". www.business-standard.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Andhra Pradesh assembly passes resolution to abolish Legislative Council". The Economic Times. 28 January 2020. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  9. ^ Lasania, Yunus Y. (23 January 2020). "YSR Congress may check opposition to Andhra's decentralization plan next week". mint. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Andhra Pradesh moves to scrap Vidhan Parishad — why some states have Legislative Council". The Indian Express. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Andhra Pradesh passes resolution to keep legislative council". Hindustan Times. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  12. ^ "CM Jaganmohan Reddy withdraws decision to scrap Andhra Pradesh legislative council". Deccan Herald. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Andhra Assembly withdraws resolution to abolish Legislative Council". The Indian Express. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Member's Information - Legislative Council - Liferay DXP". aplegislature.org. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  15. ^ "WHAT IS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL". Business Standard India. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
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