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Journalism of Courage
Legislative councils were meant to give a voice to representatives of urban local bodies and promote functional representation, but this component of a bicameral legislature is frequently being used as a rehabilitation centre for politicians who have either lost an assembly or Lok Sabha election or been denied a renomination to such an election.
Of the 432 members in the country’s seven legislative councils, 169, or 39 per cent, are either defeated candidates or former MLAs or MPs whose parties denied them a ticket for a fresh election, an analysis of their profiles shows. In Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, the chief ministers have chosen to be members of the legislative council rather than get elected to the assembly. The other five states with a bicameral legislature are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka.
Karnataka provided a recent illustration of how much store politicians lay by getting a membership to a legislative council. Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, was allegedly heard on an audio CD demanding a bribe from a leader of his party, the Janata Dal (Secular), to get him elected a Member of the Legislative Council.
Uttara Sahasrabuddhe, reader in Mumbai University’s civics and politics department, says of legislative councils, “It was an idea given by the British to help give representation to urban local bodies in the decision-making process, and also provide a degree of representation to functional groups in the state. However, over a period of time, the idea seems to have completely disintegrated and become highly politicised with money power being used to get people elected.”
Other political analysts feel the system is beneficial for a democracy. “The fact that we have not been able to make the system work well does not mean it is not a good thing,” analyst Kumar Ketkar says. “The council is necessary to keep a check and balance in our democratic setup. Many a time the [Maharashtra] council has forced a rethink on policies that were pushed through by the assembly.”
