Member of Legislative Council

MLC Full Form in English, letter by letter

MLC stands for Member of Legislative Council, a member of the Vidhan Parishad, the upper house of a state legislature in India.

MLC Full Form in Indian Languages

In news from Lucknow, Patna or Bengaluru, "MLC" is used in English even in Hindi or Kannada reports. Member of Legislative Council is given below in six Indian languages.

What a Member of Legislative Council does

A Member of Legislative Council, or MLC, sits in the Vidhan Parishad, the upper house of a state legislature. It is modelled on the Rajya Sabha at the Centre: a permanent house of review that represents groups a general election does not reach directly, such as graduates, teachers and local bodies, along with members nominated for their expertise.

Only six states currently have a Legislative Council: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. In every other state the Vidhan Sabha is the only chamber, so the title MLC does not apply.

A state gets a council when Parliament passes a law after the state assembly votes for it by a special majority. The same route is used to abolish one.

How MLCs reach the house

Seats are filled through several routes, which is why the Council is not elected by the public as a whole.

Local bodies

One-third of members are elected by members of municipalities, district boards and other local authorities in the state.

Assembly members

One-third are elected by sitting MLAs through the single transferable vote, so party strength in the Assembly usually shapes the Council.

Graduates, teachers and nominations

One-twelfth are elected by registered graduates and one-twelfth by teachers, in their own constituencies. One-sixth are nominated by the Governor from people with special knowledge or experience in literature, science, art, the cooperative movement or social service.

Who can become an MLC

An MLC must be a citizen of India, at least 30 years old, and an elector of an Assembly constituency in the state. For a nominated seat, the person must be ordinarily resident in the state. There is also the usual disqualification for holding an office of profit, being of unsound mind or being insolvent.

Nominated members are picked for their record in a field, which is how artists, scientists and social workers can reach the house without fighting an election. In practice, party considerations shape most elected seats, and often the nominated ones too.

Elections to the Council, including those for graduate and teacher seats, are conducted by the Election Commission of India, and the Governor makes the nominations. Voters in graduate constituencies must register for the roll, since the list is not prepared automatically from the general electoral roll.

What the Council can and cannot do

The Council reviews bills passed by the Assembly. For an ordinary bill it can hold the bill for up to three months at the first stage. If the Assembly passes the bill again, the Council can delay it for a further month, after which the bill is treated as passed. On a money bill it can only recommend changes and must return it within 14 days, and the Assembly may accept or reject its suggestions.

The Council cannot vote a government out, because the ministry answers to the Assembly. Its power lies in delay and scrutiny, which supporters call a check on hasty law and critics call obstruction.

The house has a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman, and Question Hour works much as it does in the Assembly, so MLCs can put questions to ministers on state subjects.

MLC compared with MLA

MLAs are elected directly by voters for five years. MLCs serve six years, with one-third of the house retiring every two years, so the Council is never dissolved as a whole. An MLA must be at least 25 years old, while an MLC must be at least 30.

A member of the Council can become a minister, even Chief Minister, and several have. A person who is not a member of either house when appointed minister must be elected or nominated to the legislature within six months.

The Council is also not tied to the Assembly's five-year cycle, which gives it continuity. An MLC does not represent a single geographical constituency of voters in the way an MLA does, so their link to citizens runs through the group that elected them.

The argument for and against the Vidhan Parishad

Supporters say the Council adds expert scrutiny, gives continuity across elections, and represents graduates, teachers and local bodies who otherwise vote only in Assembly polls.

Critics call it an unnecessary cost, a delaying device and a parking place for politicians who lost Assembly elections. Several states have abolished their councils over the years, and others have passed resolutions to create one. Whether a second chamber earns its keep is still debated.

The Legislative Council exists to slow legislation down and to carry voices that a general election skips: graduates, teachers, local bodies and nominated specialists. Whether that is worth the cost is debated in every state that has one, but the MLC's real role is review and not veto.

MLC Full Form: Common Questions