The Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was a Vidhan Parishad and its members were chosen by a mixture of direct and indirect elections and nominations by the Governor of Tamil Nadu. The council was abolished in 1986 and was revived in 2010 by an act of parliament.[1][2][3] The legislative council is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution. The length of a member's term is six years and one third of the members retired every two years. The strength of the council was between 40 and 78 (one third of the strength of the assembly).
Methods of member selection
editThe following table illustrates how the members of Council were selected:[4][5]
| Proportion | Method of Selection |
|---|---|
| 12 (1/6) | Nominated by the Governor on the advice of the cabinet. They were supposed to have excelled in fields like arts, science, literature, cooperative movement or social service |
| 26(1/3) | Elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly by proportional representation using the Single Transferable Vote System |
| 26 (1/3) | Elected by the members of local self governmental bodies like corporations, municipalities and district boards. |
| 7 (1/12) | Elected by an electorate consisting of electors who have held Graduate degrees for a minimum of three years |
| 7 (1/12) | Elected by an electorate consisting of teachers of secondary schools, colleges and universities with a minimum experience of three years |
List of constituencies
editConstituencies for the new council were identified in September 2010:[6]
Local body constituencies
edit| S. No | Constituency | Geographical Area Covered | No of Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chennai Local Authorities | Chennai District | 2 |
| 2 | Tiruvallur Local Authorities . | Tiruvallur District | 1 |
| 3 | Kanchipuram Local Authorities | Kanchipuram District | 1 |
| 4 | Vellore Local Authorities | Vellore District | 1 |
| 5 | Tiruvannamalai Local Authorities | Tiruvannamalai district | 1 |
| 6 | Villupuram Local Authorities | Villupuram District | 1 |
| 7 | Cuddalore-Ariyalur Local authorities | Cuddalore and Ariyalur districts | 1 |
| 8 | Dharmapuri Local Authorities | Dharmapuri District | 1 |
| 9 | Krishnagiri Local Authorities | Krishnagiri District | 1 |
| 10 | Salem Local Authorities | Salem District | 1 |
| 11 | Namakkal-Karur Local Authorities | Namakkal and Karur districts | 1 |
| 12 | Coimbatore-Nilgiris Local Authorities | Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts | 1 |
| 13 | Erode Local Authorities | Erode District | 1 |
| 14 | Tirupur Local Authorities | Tirupur District | 1 |
| 15 | Dindigul-Theni Local Authorities | Dindigul and Theni districts | 1 |
| 16 | Madurai Local Authorities | Madurai District | 1 |
| 17 | Tiruchirappalli–Perambalur Local Authorities | Trichy and Perambalur districts | 1 |
| 18 | Nagapattinam- Tiruvarur Local Authorities | Nagapattinam and Thiruvarur districts | 1 |
| 19 | Thanjavur Local Authorities | Thanjavur District | 1 |
| 20 | Pudhukkottai Local Authorities | Pudhukkottai District | 1 |
| 21 | Sivaganga-Ramanathapuram Local Authorities | Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram districts | 1 |
| 22 | Virudhunagar Local Authorities | Virudhunagar District | 1 |
| 23 | Thoothukudi Local Authorities | Thoothukudi District | 1 |
| 24 | Tirunelveli Local Authorities | Tirunelveli District | 1 |
| 25 | Kanyakumari Local Authorities | Kanyakumari District | 1 |
Graduates' constituencies
edit| S. No | Constituency | Geographical Area Covered | No of Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chennai Graduates | Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts | 1 |
| 2 | Tamil Nadu North Graduates | Vellore, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Thiruvannamalai districts | 1 |
| 3 | Tamil Nadu North Central Graduates | Villupram, Salem, Namakkal and Cuddalore districts | 1 |
| 4 | Tamil Nadu West Graduates | Erode, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Karur and Tiruppur districts | 1 |
| 5 | Tamil Nadu East Central Graduates | Trichy, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur and Tanjavur districts | 1 |
| 6 | Tamil Nadu South Central Graduates | Dindigal, Pudhukottai, Sivagangai, Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts | 1 |
| 7 | Tamil Nadu South Graduates | Theni, Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts | 1 |
Teachers' constituencies
edit| S. No | Constituency | Geographical Area Covered | No of Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chennai Teachers | Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts | 1 |
| 2 | Tamil Nadu North Teachers | Vellore, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Thiruvannamalai districts | 1 |
| 3 | Tamil Nadu North Central Teachers | Villupram, Salem, Namakkal and Cuddalore districts | 1 |
| 4 | Tamil Nadu West Teachers | Erode, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Karur and Tiruppur districts | 1 |
| 5 | Tamil Nadu East Central Teachers | Trichy, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur and Tanjavur districts | 1 |
| 6 | Tamil Nadu South Central Teachers | Dindigal, Pudhukottai, Sivagangai, Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts | 1 |
| 7 | Tamil Nadu South Teachers | Theni, Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts | 1 |
References
edit- ^ "Assembly votes for Legislative Council". The Hindu. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ "Parliament nod for Council Bill". The Hindu. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ Ramakrishnan, T (8 April 2010). "Legislative Council had chequered history". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ Sharma, B. K. (2007). Introduction to the Constitution of India. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 207–218. ISBN 978-81-203-3246-1.
- ^ "'Announcement on electoral rolls for Legislative Council soon'". The Hindu. 26 September 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ Delimitation of Council Constituencies (Tamil Nadu), Order 2010 Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine