Fourth Schedule: Allocation of Rajya Sabha Seats

Rajya Sabha seat allocation across India's States and Union Territories is fixed by the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, read with Articles 4(1) and 80(2). It is the schedule that turns the general idea of a "Council of States" into a concrete, state-by-state seat count, and it is one of the few schedules that gets amended almost every time India's internal state boundaries change.

What the Fourth Schedule Does

The Fourth Schedule is attached to Articles 4(1) and 80(2) of the Constitution. Article 80(2) provides for the composition of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) as regards its elected component, and the Fourth Schedule supplies the actual table: against each State and Union Territory named in one column, the schedule specifies the number of Rajya Sabha seats allotted to it in the next column. Taken together, the seats allotted under the Fourth Schedule currently add up to 233, the elected strength of the Rajya Sabha (the remaining 12 members are nominated by the President and fall outside the schedule).

The Logic of Allocation

Seats are not distributed equally among States. The Fourth Schedule allocates seats broadly in proportion to each State's population and size, so larger and more populous States receive more seats than smaller ones. This is a deliberate contrast with the Rajya Sabha's character as a body representing the States as political units, while still weighting representation by population — a middle path between the Lok Sabha's strict population-based allocation and a US Senate-style scheme of equal seats per state.

A sample of the Fourth Schedule table illustrates this proportionality and how it has shifted with state reorganisation:

Why the Table Keeps Changing

Because the Fourth Schedule is tied directly to the existence and size of States, it is amended whenever Parliament reorganises State boundaries. Article 4(1) itself permits a law made under Article 2 (admission or establishment of new States) or Article 3 (formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries, or names of existing States) to make consequential changes to the First Schedule (which lists the States and Union Territories) and the Fourth Schedule. Such a law is treated as an ordinary legislative exercise of Parliament's reorganisation power, not as a constitutional amendment under Article 368.

This is exactly what happened with the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000, which carved out Jharkhand from Bihar and correspondingly revised Bihar's Rajya Sabha allocation from 22 to 16 seats while giving Jharkhand 6 seats. The same pattern repeated with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, which created Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh, reducing undivided Andhra Pradesh's seats from 18 to 11 for the residual State and creating a fresh entry of 7 seats for Telangana.

Fourth Schedule and the Entrenched Category of Article 368(2)

While reorganisation-driven, consequential updates to the Fourth Schedule are made through ordinary law under Article 4(1), the Constitution treats the broader question of how States are represented in Parliament differently when it is the subject of a deliberate constitutional amendment. Article 368(2) lists certain matters as requiring ratification by not less than half of the State Legislatures before the Bill can be presented for the President's assent — and the representation of States in Parliament is one of the categories listed alongside matters such as the manner of election of the President, the distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the States, and the powers of the Supreme Court and High Courts. This entrenchment procedure, while more liberal than the three-fourths requirement under the United States Constitution, ensures that any constitutional-amendment-route change to the basic scheme of State representation cannot be pushed through by Parliament alone.

Rajya Sabha's Place in Parliament

The seats allocated under the Fourth Schedule are elected indirectly — by the elected members of each State's Legislative Assembly — which is part of why the Rajya Sabha is described as a body representing the States and federal units, rather than the population directly as the Lok Sabha does. This indirect, State-based election also explains why the Rajya Sabha's powers differ from the Lok Sabha's in specific ways: an ordinary law needs passage by both Houses, but a deadlock is resolved in a joint sitting where the Lok Sabha's larger numbers tend to prevail; money and budget-related legislation can only be delayed by the Rajya Sabha for up to fourteen days, not rejected; and a no-confidence motion, which can bring down the Council of Ministers, can only be moved and decided in the Lok Sabha. The Fourth Schedule's seat table is therefore not just an administrative list — it fixes the very composition through which the Rajya Sabha performs its more limited but still significant role in the Union Parliament.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• The Fourth Schedule is linked to Articles 4(1) and 80(2) — a frequently tested article-schedule pairing.
• Seats under the Fourth Schedule are allocated on the basis of population/size, not equally per State.
• Total elected Rajya Sabha strength under the Fourth Schedule is 233; the balance of 12 members is nominated, outside the schedule.
• State reorganisation laws under Articles 2 and 3 can amend the Fourth Schedule without invoking Article 368.

Mains

• Discuss how the Fourth Schedule reflects the federal yet population-weighted character of Rajya Sabha representation.
• Examine the relationship between Article 4(1) and Article 368(2) in respect of changes to State representation in Parliament.
• Analyse how State reorganisation (e.g., Bihar–Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh–Telangana) has altered Rajya Sabha seat allocation over time.

FAQ

Q1. What is the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution of India? It is the schedule, linked to Articles 4(1) and 80(2), that lists every State and Union Territory along with the number of Rajya Sabha (Council of States) seats allotted to it.

Q2. How many Rajya Sabha seats does the Fourth Schedule allocate in total? The Fourth Schedule allocates 233 seats across States and Union Territories; these are in addition to the 12 members nominated by the President, who fall outside the schedule.

Q3. Is the seat allocation equal among all States? No. Allocation is broadly proportional to each State's population and size, so larger States receive more seats than smaller ones.

Q4. Can the Fourth Schedule be changed without a constitutional amendment? Yes, for consequential changes arising from State reorganisation. Article 4(1) allows a law made under Article 2 or Article 3 to amend the Fourth Schedule (and First Schedule) as an ordinary legislative act, without triggering the Article 368 amendment procedure.

Q5. Why is representation of States in Parliament listed under Article 368(2)? Article 368(2) requires State Legislature ratification for amendments touching, among other matters, the representation of States in Parliament — because such changes affect the federal balance and cannot be made by Parliament acting alone through a deliberate constitutional amendment.

Quick Revision

• Fourth Schedule → Articles 4(1) and 80(2).
• Allocates Rajya Sabha seats State/UT-wise; total 233 elected seats.
• Allocation proportional to population/size, not equal per State.
• Amendable via ordinary reorganisation law (Article 2/3) without Article 368 procedure.
• Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000: Bihar 22 → 16; Jharkhand created with 6.
• Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014: Andhra Pradesh 18 → 11; Telangana created with 7.
• Representation of States in Parliament is an entrenched category under Article 368(2), needing ratification by half the State Legislatures.
• Rajya Sabha members from the Fourth Schedule table are elected indirectly by State Legislative Assemblies.

Sources

• Constitution of India — Fourth Schedule, Articles 4(1) and 80(2)
• Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 — legislative.gov.in
• Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 — legislative.gov.in

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• Indian Polity — M. Laxmikanth (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• Introduction to the Constitution of India — D.D. Basu (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.