Home › PYQs › Polity › All questions › 2015 · Legislative Council
UPSC Prelims 2015 · Polity · Governor & State Government
Consider the following statements:
- The Legislative Council of a State in India can be larger in size than half of the Legislative Assembly of that particular State.
- The Governor of a State nominates the Chairman of Legislative Council of that particular State.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Size is capped at one-third (min 40); the Chairman is elected by the members.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ WRONG — cap is one-third Art. 171(1): members of a Legislative Council shall not exceed one-third of the Assembly’s total members, and never be fewer than 40.
2. ✗ WRONG — elected The Council elects its own Chairman and Deputy Chairman from among its members (Art. 182). The Governor nominates about one-sixth of the members, not the Chairman.
The idea
Composition of a Council (Art. 171): 1/3 elected by MLAs · 1/3 by local bodies · 1/12 by graduates · 1/12 by teachers · ~1/6 nominated by the Governor. Created or abolished by Parliament on the Assembly’s resolution passed by a special majority (Art. 169). Six States have one today.
Assembly resolution (special majority) → Parliament law (Art. 169) → Council ≤ 1/3 of Assembly, ≥ 40
Why the others are wrong
(a) The ceiling is one-third, so “more than half” is impossible.
(b) The Chairman is elected by the Council.
(c) Both statements are false.
The trap
Statement 2 borrows from the Vice-President (ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) and the Governor’s nomination power. Neither applies to the Council’s Chairman.
🔒 Legislative Council: ≤ 1/3 of the Assembly, ≥ 40 · Chairman elected by the Council · created/abolished by Parliament (Art. 169).
Solve this chapter interactively →All Polity questions