Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Explained

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council
Native Name:Telugu: Āndhra Pradēś Śāsana Maṇḍali
Coa Pic:Emblem of Andhra Pradesh.svg
Preceded By:Andhra State Legislative Council
Foundation:1 July 1958 – 31 May 1982;
30 March 2007 – present
Coa Res:350px
House Type:Upper house
Body:Andhra Pradesh Legislature
Term Limits:6 years
Leader1 Type:Governor
Leader1:Syed Abdul Nazeer
Election1:24 February 2023
Leader2 Type:Secretary General
Leader2:Suryadevara Prasanna Kumar
Election2:16 July 2024
Leader3 Type:Chairman
Leader3:Koyye Moshenu Raju
Party3:YSRCP
Election3:19 November 2021
Leader4:Zakia Khanam
Party4:YSRCP
Election4:26 November 2021
Leader5 Type:Leader of the House
Leader5:N. Chandrababu Naidu
Party5:TDP
Election5:12 June 2024
Leader6 Type:Minister of Legislative Affairs
Leader6:Payyavula Keshav
Party6:TDP
Election6:12 June 2024
Leader7 Type:Leader of the Opposition
Leader7:Botsa Satyanarayana
Party7:YSRCP
Election7:21 Aug 2024
Structure1:AP Legislative Council strength as on Aug 2024.svg
Structure1 Res:300px
Members:58 (50 Elected + 8 Nominated)
Political Groups1:Government (10)

NDA (10)

Official Opposition (39)

YSRCP (39)Other Opposition(6)

PDF (2)

IND (4)Vacant (3)

Vacant (3)

Voting System1:Single transferable vote
Last Election1:13 March 2023
Next Election1:March 2025
Session Room:Andhra Pradesh Secretariat.jpg
Session Res:300px
Meeting Place:Council Building
Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council or Āndhra Pradēś Śāsana Maṇḍali is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state, Andhra Pradesh; the lower house being the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. It is situated in the state 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
GovernorS. Abdul Nazeer
ChairmanKoyye Moshenu Raju
Deputy ChairmanZakia Khanam
Leader of the House
N. Chandrababu Naidu
Leader of the OppositionBotsa Satyanarayana

Members

See main article: List of members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council.

Elected by Members of the Legislative Assembly (20)

Keys:

MemberPartyTerm startTerm end
1P. V. V. Suryanarayana Raju30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
2Pothula Suneetha30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
3Bommi Israel30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
4Jayamangalam Venkata Ramana30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
5Chandragiri Yesuratnam30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
6Marri Rajashekar30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
7D. C. Govinda Reddy29-Nov-202128-Nov-2027
8Palavalasa Vikranth29-Nov-202128-Nov-2027
9Isacc Basha29-Nov-202128-Nov-2027
10Balli Kalyanachakravarthy30-Mar-202129-Mar-2027
11Duvvada Srinivas30-Mar-202129-Mar-2027
12Mohammed Ruhulla21-Mar-202229-Mar-2027
13Panchumarthi Anuradha30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
14Chennamsetty Ramachandraiah08-July-202429-Mar-2027
15Yanamala Rama Krishnudu30-Mar-201929-Mar-2025
16Ashok Babu30-Mar-201929-Mar-2025
17B. Tirumala Naidu30-Mar-201929-Mar-2025
18Duvvarapu Rama Rao30-Mar-201929-Mar-2025
19Pidugu Hariprasad08-July-202429-Mar-2027
20vacant since 17-May-2024[16] 29-Mar-2025

Elected from Local Authorities constituencies (20)

Keys:

ConstituencyMemberPartyTerm startTerm end
1ChitoorCipai Subramanyam02-May-202301-May-2029
2East GodavariKudupudi Suryanarayana Rao02-May-202301-May-2029
3KurnoolA. Madhusudhan02-May-202301-May-2029
4SrikakulamNarthu Ramarao02-May-202301-May-2029
5NelloreMeriga Muralidhar02-May-202301-May-2029
6West GodavariKavuru Srinivasa Rao02-May-202301-May-2029
7West GodavariVanka Raveendranath02-May-202301-May-2029
8AnantpurSanipalli Mangamma30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
9KadapaPonnapureddy Rama Subba Reddy30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
10AnantpurYellareddygari Sivaramireddy2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
11ChitoorK. R. J. Bharath2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
12East GodavariAnanta Satya Udaya Bhaskar2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
13GunturMurugudu Hanumantha Rao2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
14GunturUmmareddy Venkateswarlu2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
15KrishnaMonditoka Arunkumar2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
16KrishnaTalasila Raghuram2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
17PrakasamTumati Madhava Rao2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
18VisakhapatnamVarudu Kalyani2-Dec-20211-Dec-2027
19VisakhapatnamBotsa Satyanarayana16-Aug-20241-Dec-2027
20Vizianagaramvacant since 3-Jun-2024[17] 1-Dec-2027

Elected from Graduates constituencies (5)

Keys:

ConstituencyMemberPartyTerm startTerm end
1Srikakulam-Visakhapatnam-VizianagaramDr. Vepada Chiranjeevi Rao30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
2Prakasam-Nellore-ChittoorKancharla Srikanth30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
3Kadapa-Anantapur-KurnoolBhumireddy Ramagopal Reddy30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
4East Godavari-West GodavariIlla Venkateswara Raobgcolor=#DB5353 PDF30-Mar-201929-Mar-2025
5Krishna-GunturK. S. Lakshmana Raobgcolor=#DB5353 PDF30-Mar-201929-Mar-2025

Elected from Teachers constituencies (5)

Keys:

ConstituencyMemberPartyTerm startTerm end
1Prakasam-Nellore-ChittoorParvathareddy Chandra Sekhar Reddybgcolor=IND30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
2Kadapa-Kurnool-AnantapurM. V. Ramachandra ReddyIND30-Mar-202329-Mar-2029
3East Godavari-West GodavariVacant since 15-Dec-2023[18] 29-Mar-2027
4Krishna-GunturT. KalpalathaIND30-Mar-202129-Mar-2027
5Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam-SrikakulamPakalapati Raghu VarmaIND30-Mar-201929-Mar-2025

Nominated by Governor (8)

Keys:

MemberPartyTerm startTerm end
1Kumbha Ravibabu10-Aug-202309-Aug-2029
2Karri Padma Sree10-Aug-202309-Aug-2029
3Rajagolla Ramesh Yadav16-Jun-202115-Jun-2027
4Koyye Moshenu Raju16-Jun-202115-Jun-2027
5Lella Appi Reddy16-Jun-202115-Jun-2027
6Thota Thrimurthulu16-Jun-202115-Jun-2027
7Pandula Ravindra Babu28-Jul-202027-Jul-2026
8Mayana Zakia Khanam28-Jul-202027-Jul-2026

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023-01-06 . YSRCP all set to capture 23 Upper House seats this year . 2023-03-19 . Hindustan Times . en.
  2. Web site: Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council History. National Informatics Centre. 2010-09-03.
  3. Book: Introduction to the Constitution of India, Fifth Edition. 212–13. Sharma. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.. 978-81-203-3674-2.
  4. Book: Indian Polity For UPSC 3E. Laxmikanth. 2010. 27–1. Tata McGraw-Hill. 978-0-07-015316-5.
  5. Book: State politics in India: reflections on Andhra Pradesh. 97–110. Agarala Easwara Reddy. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.. 1994. 978-81-85880-51-8.
  6. Web site: 2021-11-23 . Andhra Assembly withdraws resolution to abolish Legislative Council . 2022-05-18 . The Indian Express . en.
  7. Web site: Standard . Business . 2020-01-23 . YSRCP leaders stage protest against Chandrababu Naidu in Visakhapatnam . 2023-03-26 . www.business-standard.com . en-US.
  8. News: 2020-01-28 . Andhra Pradesh assembly passes resolution to abolish Legislative Council . The Economic Times . 2023-03-18 . 0013-0389.
  9. Web site: Lasania . Yunus Y. . 2020-01-23 . YSR Congress may check opposition to Andhra’s decentralization plan next week . 2023-03-18 . mint . en.
  10. Web site: 2020-01-27 . Andhra Pradesh moves to scrap Vidhan Parishad — why some states have Legislative Council . 2023-03-18 . The Indian Express . en.
  11. Web site: 2021-11-24 . Andhra Pradesh passes resolution to keep legislative council . 2023-03-18 . Hindustan Times . en.
  12. Web site: 2021-11-23 . CM Jaganmohan Reddy withdraws decision to scrap Andhra Pradesh legislative council . 2023-03-18 . Deccan Herald . en.
  13. Web site: 2021-11-23 . Andhra Assembly withdraws resolution to abolish Legislative Council . 2023-03-18 . The Indian Express . en.
  14. Web site: Member's Information - Legislative Council - Liferay DXP . 2023-03-18 . aplegislature.org.
  15. News: WHAT IS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL . Business Standard India . 2023-03-18.
  16. Web site: 2024-05-17 . MLC Janga Krishna Murthy disqualified . The New Indian Express .
  17. Web site: 2024-06-03 . YSRC rebel MLC Indukuri disqualified . Deccan Chronicle .
  18. Web site: Andhra Pradesh MLC Shaik Sabjee dies in car accident . Deccan Herald .