14. Process of Election to the Rajya Sabha

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. This is done 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.

Every State has a specific quota of seats in the Rajya Sabha which is fixed as per Schedule 4 of the constitution. Elections to 1/3 of these seats occur every 2 years. The members are elected by the respective State legislative assemblies. The voters are the MLAs in that State. Every voter is required to rank candidates according to her or his preference. To be declared the winner, a candidate must secure a minimum quota of votes, which is determined by a formula: