List of State Legislative Councils of India

Legislative Council of India: About

India has a bicameral system of legislature. The states can also have two houses namely Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council just like Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at Union level. 

At present Six States of India have a Legislative Council. These are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka. 

Earlier there were seven states including the state of Jammu and Kashmir but it had been abolished through the J&K Reorganization Bill 2019 that changed the status of the state to Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh. 

Take a look at the table below to know all the states having Legislative Council and its members 

List of States having a Legislative Council:

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council:

1. It was formed in two spells. Earlier the Vidhan Parishad came into existence from 1958 to 1985.
2. The next phase was from 2007 and is active till now.
3. In the 1980s, Andhra Pradesh became one of the first states to seek the abolition of the upper houses.
4. It was on 5th December 1956, the Andhra Pradesh Vidhan Sabha passed a resolution that called for the creation of an upper house, the Vidhan Parishad. 

Bihar Legislative Assembly: 

1. The Legislative Council of Bihar was formed in 1912 with a total of 43 members belonging to different categories.
2. In 1920, Bihar and Orissa were declared Governor Province as per the GOI Act 1919.
3. It is a permanent body and not subject to dissolution.
4. One-third of the members thereof retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year. 

Karnataka Legislative Council:

1. The Karnataka Legislative Council is a permanent body.
2. It comprises 75 members.
3. It was established as the Mysore Legislative Council in 1907.
4. The minimum and maximum number of additional members was increased from 15 to 21 respectively.
5. This was done by Regulation I of 1914 and the maximum was further increased to 30 by Regulation II of 1919.
6. It is a permanent body with one-third of its members retiring every two years.

Maharashtra Legislative Council:

1. Vidhan Parishad is situated at the Nariman Point area of South Mumbai in the capital Mumbai.
2. The interesting part is that the budget and monsoon session are convened by Mumbai and winter session is convened in Nagpur. 

Telangana Legislative Council:

1. Telangana Legislative Council is situated in the state's capital of Hyderabad.
2. It has 40 members.
3. The Vidhan Parishad has been in existence since June 2014 and was formed after the division of Andhra Pradesh. 

Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council:

1. Uttar Pradesh's Vidhan Parishad is the largest of all.
2. It is a permanent House, consisting of 100 members.
3. It came into existence by the Government of India Act of 1935.
4. The first meeting of the Legislative Council was held on 29 July 1937.

The Council can be created or abolished when the Legislative Assembly of the state passes a resolution by two-thirds majority of members present and voting in the State Assembly for the same. Later the Parliament is requested to create or abolish the legislative council.

Also Read| What is the difference between Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) & Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)?