Election and Tenure of Rajya Sabha MP

Subject: Polity

Context: Some of the Rajya Sabha MPS retired from the house after completing their term yesterday.

Concept:

Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250 and current strength is 245, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union Territories.
The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha.
The representatives of the States and of the Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the method of indirect election 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.
Rajya Sabha is a permanent House and is not subject to dissolution. However, one-third Members of Rajya Sabha retire after every second year. A member who is elected for a full term serves for a period of six years.
A member elected in a bye-election remains member for the remainder of the term of the member who had resigned or died or disqualified to be member of the House under the Tenth Schedule.