Parliament: Composition, Elections and Sessions

India’s Parliament has two houses, each built and elected differently. This article covers their composition, how members get there, and how sessions actually work.

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Parliament: Composition, Elections and Sessions

Lok Sabha

Directly elected, territorial constituencies.

Fixed term; can be dissolved.

Rajya Sabha

Elected by state legislatures, proportional representation.

Permanent — 1/3 members retire every 2 years.

Joint Sessions & Rules

Resolve deadlocks on ordinary bills; Speaker presides.

MPs get freedom-of-speech privileges within the House.

Two houses, deliberately different

Direct vs. indirect election gives the Rajya Sabha its own role — institutional continuity and a longer-term view, distinct from the Lok Sabha’s immediate accountability.

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Must Know

• The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is directly elected by voters in territorial constituencies. The Rajya Sabha (Council of States), by contrast, is elected by state legislatures using proportional representation.
• The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body that never fully dissolves. One-third of its members retire every two years, unlike the Lok Sabha, which has a fixed term and can be dissolved.
• A joint session of both houses can be called to resolve a deadlock over an ordinary bill. It is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• The Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (the Vice-President) preside over their respective houses. They decide procedural matters and maintain order.

Good to Know

• Members of Parliament must meet specific qualification requirements, like citizenship and minimum age. They can be disqualified for reasons including defection or holding an office of profit.
• MPs enjoy certain privileges and immunities, like freedom of speech within the House, to let them perform their legislative duties without undue external pressure. This comes from Article 105 of the Constitution. Since a 2024 Supreme Court ruling, this immunity no longer covers bribery, even if the member votes as agreed.
• State Legislatures follow a broadly similar structure to Parliament. Most states have only a single house (a Legislative Assembly), while a few also have an upper house (a Legislative Council).
• The reason for a joint session mechanism is structural. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are elected very differently, so they can end up controlled by different political coalitions, making deadlock a real possibility.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. The maximum permissible gap between two sessions of Parliament, as required by the Constitution, is?

Three months

Six months

Nine months

One year

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Great to Know

• The Rajya Sabha’s permanent, staggered-retirement design was deliberately chosen to give the upper house institutional continuity and a longer-term perspective. This is distinct from the Lok Sabha’s more immediately electorally-accountable character.
• The two houses use different election methods: direct territorial election for the Lok Sabha, indirect proportional election for the Rajya Sabha. This was a deliberate design choice, giving the Rajya Sabha its role as a body representing the states specifically, not just voters directly.
• A joint session’s outcome is decided by a simple majority of the combined membership. Since the Lok Sabha has significantly more members than the Rajya Sabha, this mechanism structurally favours the Lok Sabha’s position in any deadlock.