PM Manmohan Singh re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Assam for the Fifth Time

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 30 May 2013 was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the fifth time from Assam.

Indian National Congress (INC) won both the seats to the Upper House from Assam. The Other candidate of Indian national Congress from Assam, Santius Kujur was also elected as he has secured 45 seats.  Manmohan Singh bagged 49 first preference votes in the 126-member Assembly. The other party, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF)'s Aminul Islam, was defeated as it was polled only18 votes.

It is worth mentioning here that the Congress has 78 members in the Assembly, while its ally, the Bodoland People’s Front, has 12 MLAs. The Opposition AGP and the BJP have not taken part in the voting. Manmohan Singh will be the only prime minister who was in the Rajya Sabha during his entire term of office.

Some Important facts Related to the Vote

• AIUDF is a partner of the UPA at the Centre and its 18 MLAs gave their second preference vote to the Prime Minister.
• The Prime Minister was the only contestant for the first preference vote seat as the other parties did not put up any candidate against him.
• The votes of all 78 Congress members and its ally Bodoland Peoples Front's 12 MLAs were found to be valid.
• The Congress now has five members out of seven in Assam to the Rajya Sabha.
• The election process has to be completed before 3 June 2013 as per the Election Commission's May 13 notification.

Procedure of Election of Members to Rajya Sabha

Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament.

Article 102 of the Constitution lays down that a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament

The representatives of the States and of the Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the method of indirect election.  The representatives of each State and two Union territories are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of that State and by the members of the Electoral College for that Union Territory, as the case may be, in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. The Electoral College for the National Capital Territory of Delhi consists of the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, and that for Puducherry consists of the elected members of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly.