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.[2] The Sasana Mandali has been in existence in two spells: from 1958 to 1985, and from 2007 continuing till today.

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council

Āndhra Pradēś Śāsana Maṇḍali
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
Syed Abdul Nazeer
since 24 February 2023
Secretary General
Suryadevara Prasanna Kumar
since 15 July 2024
Koyye Moshenu Raju, YSRCP
since 19 November 2021
Zakia Khanam, YSRCP
since 26 November 2021
N. Chandrababu Naidu, TDP
since 12 June 2024
Payyavula Keshav, TDP
since 12 June 2024
Botsa Satyanarayana[1], YSRCP
since 22 Aug 2024
Structure
Seats58 (50 elected + 8 nominated)
Political groups
Government (10)
  NDA (10)

Official Opposition (37)

  YSRCP (37)

Other Opposition(6)

  PDF (2)
  IND (4)

Vacant (5)

  Vacant (5)
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
16 August 2024
Next election
2024
Meeting place
Council Building
Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India
Website
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council

History

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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.[3] The Vidhan Parishad was formed officially on 1 July 1958 under article 168 of the Constitution of India. The first President of India, Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the Vidhan Parishad on 8 July 1958.[3]

Abolition in 1980

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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.[3][4][5][6] 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.[6] 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.[3][6]

Revival in 2007

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Subsequent attempts were made to revive the Legislative Council under Chief Minister Marri Chenna Reddy, who belonged to the Congress (I), which had won the state elections in 1989.[3][6] A resolution to revive the Legislative Council was passed in the Vidhan Sabha on 22 January 1990.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3] The newly revived Legislative Council was constituted on 30 March 2007 and inaugurated on 2 April by Rameshwar Thakur, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.[3]

Second abolition proposed in 2020

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The ruling YSR Congress Party made and passed the resolution for abolition of the Legislative Council in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly[7] 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.[8][9][10][11]

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[12] and with no response from the Parliament of India regarding the decision to abolish the council.[13][14]

Composition

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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.[15][16]

Presiding officers

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Designation Name
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer
Chairman Koyye Moshenu Raju
(YSRCP)
Deputy Chairman Zakia Khanam
(YSRCP)
Leader of the House
(Chief Minister)
N. Chandrababu Naidu
(TDP)
Leader of the Opposition Botsa Satyanarayana
(YSRCP)

Members

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Elected by Members of the Legislative Assembly (20)

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Keys:   YSRCP (10)   TDP (6)   JSP (1)   Vacant (3)

# Member Party Term start Term end
1 P. V. V. Suryanarayana Raju YSRCP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
2 Vacant since 28-Aug-2024[17] 29-Mar-2029
3 Bommi Israel YSRCP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
4 Jayamangalam Venkata Ramana YSRCP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
5 Chandragiri Yesuratnam YSRCP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
6 Marri Rajashekar YSRCP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
7 D. C. Govinda Reddy YSRCP 29-Nov-2021 28-Nov-2027
8 Palavalasa Vikranth YSRCP 29-Nov-2021 28-Nov-2027
9 Isacc Basha YSRCP 29-Nov-2021 28-Nov-2027
10 Vacant since 30-Aug-2024[18] 29-Mar-2027
11 Duvvada Srinivas YSRCP 30-Mar-2021 29-Mar-2027
12 Mohammed Ruhulla YSRCP 21-Mar-2022 29-Mar-2027
13 Panchumarthi Anuradha TDP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
14 Chennamsetty Ramachandraiah TDP 08-July-2024 29-Mar-2027
15 Yanamala Rama Krishnudu TDP 30-Mar-2019 29-Mar-2025
16 Ashok Babu TDP 30-Mar-2019 29-Mar-2025
17 B. Tirumala Naidu TDP 30-Mar-2019 29-Mar-2025
18 Duvvarapu Rama Rao TDP 30-Mar-2019 29-Mar-2025
19 Pidugu Hariprasad JSP 08-July-2024 29-Mar-2027
20 Vacant since 17-May-2024[19] 29-Mar-2025

Elected from Local Authorities constituencies (20)

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Keys:   YSRCP (20)

# Constituency Member Party Term start Term end
1 Chitoor Cipai Subramanyam YSRCP 02-May-2023 01-May-2029
2 East Godavari Kudupudi Suryanarayana Rao YSRCP 02-May-2023 01-May-2029
3 Kurnool A. Madhusudhan YSRCP 02-May-2023 01-May-2029
4 Srikakulam Narthu Ramarao YSRCP 02-May-2023 01-May-2029
5 Nellore Meriga Muralidhar YSRCP 02-May-2023 01-May-2029
6 West Godavari Kavuru Srinivasa Rao YSRCP 02-May-2023 01-May-2029
7 West Godavari Vanka Raveendranath YSRCP 02-May-2023 01-May-2029
8 Anantpuram Sanipalli Mangamma YSRCP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
9 Kadapa Ponnapureddy Rama Subba Reddy YSRCP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
10 Anantapuram Yellareddygari Sivaramireddy YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
11 Chitoor K. R. J. Bharath YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
12 East Godavari Ananta Satya Udaya Bhaskar YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
13 Guntur Murugudu Hanumantha Rao YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
14 Guntur Ummareddy Venkateswarlu YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
15 Krishna Monditoka Arunkumar YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
16 Krishna Talasila Raghuram YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
17 Prakasam Tumati Madhava Rao YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
18 Visakhapatnam Varudu Kalyani YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027
19 Visakhapatnam Botsa Satyanarayana YSRCP 21-Aug-2024 1-Dec-2027
20 Vizianagaram Indukuri Raghu Raju YSRCP 2-Dec-2021 1-Dec-2027

Elected from Graduates constituencies (5)

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Keys:   TDP (3)   PDF (2)

# Constituency Member Party Term start Term end
1 Srikakulam-Visakhapatnam-Vizianagaram Vepada Chiranjeevi Rao TDP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
2 Prakasam-Nellore-Chittoor Kancharla Srikanth TDP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
3 Kadapa-Anantapuram-Kurnool Bhumireddy Ramagopal Reddy TDP 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
4 East Godavari-West Godavari Illa Venkateswara Rao PDF 30-Mar-2019 29-Mar-2025
5 Krishna-Guntur K. S. Lakshmana Rao PDF 30-Mar-2019 29-Mar-2025

Elected from Teachers constituencies (5)

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Keys:   IND (4)   Vacant (1)

# Constituency Member Party Term start Term end
1 Prakasam-Nellore-Chittoor Parvathareddy Chandra Sekhar Reddy IND 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
2 Kadapa-Kurnool-Anantapur M. V. Ramachandra Reddy IND 30 Mar 2023 29-Mar-2029
3 East Godavari-West Godavari Vacant since 15-Dec-2023[20] 29-Mar-2027
4 Krishna-Guntur Tamatam Kalpalatha IND 30-Mar-2021 29-Mar-2027
5 Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam-Srikakulam Pakalapati Raghu Varma IND 30-Mar-2019 29-Mar-2025

Nominated by Governor (8)

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Keys:   YSRCP (7)   Vacant (1)

# Member Party Term start Term end
1 Kumbha Ravibabu YSRCP 10-Aug-2023 09-Aug-2029
2 Vacant since 30-Aug-2024[18] 09-Aug-2029
3 Rajagolla Ramesh Yadav YSRCP 16-Jun-2021 15-Jun-2027
4 Koyye Moshenu Raju YSRCP 16-Jun-2021 15-Jun-2027
5 Lella Appi Reddy YSRCP 16-Jun-2021 15-Jun-2027
6 Thota Thrimurthulu YSRCP 16-Jun-2021 15-Jun-2027
7 Pandula Ravindra Babu YSRCP 28-Jul-2020 27-Jul-2026
8 Mayana Zakia Khanam YSRCP 28-Jul-2020 27-Jul-2026

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ANDHRA PRADESH LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - Recognition as Leader of Opposition in the Council - Notified" (PDF). 22 August 2024.
  2. ^ "YSRCP all set to capture 23 Upper House seats this year". Hindustan Times. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council History". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  4. ^ Sharma (2009). Introduction to the Constitution of India, Fifth Edition. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 212–13. ISBN 978-81-203-3674-2.
  5. ^ Laxmikanth (2010). Indian Polity For UPSC 3E. Tata McGraw-Hill. pp. 27–1. ISBN 978-0-07-015316-5.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Andhra Assembly withdraws resolution to abolish Legislative Council". The Indian Express. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ "Andhra Pradesh assembly passes resolution to abolish Legislative Council". The Economic Times. 28 January 2020. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  10. ^ Lasania, Yunus Y. (23 January 2020). "YSR Congress may check opposition to Andhra's decentralization plan next week". mint. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Andhra Pradesh moves to scrap Vidhan Parishad — why some states have Legislative Council". The Indian Express. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Andhra Pradesh passes resolution to keep legislative council". Hindustan Times. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  13. ^ "CM Jaganmohan Reddy withdraws decision to scrap Andhra Pradesh legislative council". Deccan Herald. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Andhra Assembly withdraws resolution to abolish Legislative Council". The Indian Express. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Member's Information - Legislative Council - Liferay DXP". aplegislature.org. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  16. ^ "WHAT IS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL". Business Standard India. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Another jolt to YSRCP as MLC Pothula Suneetha quits party". ap7am. 28 August 2024.
  18. ^ a b Service, Express News (31 August 2024). "Andhra Pradesh: Two more YSRC MLCs submit resignation". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  19. ^ "MLC Janga Krishna Murthy disqualified". The New Indian Express. 17 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Andhra Pradesh MLC Shaik Sabjee dies in car accident". Deccan Herald.