Match List - I with List - II and choose the correct answer using the code given below the lists.
List - I (State)
A. Maharashtra
B. Karnataka
C. Bihar
D. Tamil Nadu
List - II (Number of seats in Rajy

Question

Match List - I with List - II and choose the correct answer using the code given below the lists.
List - I (State)
A. Maharashtra
B. Karnataka
C. Bihar
D. Tamil Nadu
List - II (Number of seats in Rajya Sabha)
1. 16
2. 18
3. 19
4. 12

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2. The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution fixes each State's strength in the Council of States, and for these four it reads: Maharashtra 19 (item 3), Karnataka 12 (item 4), Bihar 16 (item 1) and Tamil Nadu 18 (item 2). Only option (d) pairs all four correctly. The allocation is broadly population-based — unlike the United States Senate, where every state gets two seats regardless of size — but the Fourth Schedule figures are fixed by amendment rather than recalculated, so today they track population only loosely. Bihar is more populous than Tamil Nadu yet holds 16 seats to Tamil Nadu's 18, because Bihar's allocation fell from 22 to 16 when Jharkhand was carved out of it in 2000.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Every pair is wrong. It gives Maharashtra 18 (that is Tamil Nadu's figure), Karnataka 16 (Bihar's), Bihar 19 (Maharashtra's) and Tamil Nadu 12 (Karnataka's) — a complete rotation of the correct set.  (b) Also wrong on all four counts — Maharashtra 16, Karnataka 18, Bihar 12 and Tamil Nadu 19. Bihar, with a far larger population than Karnataka, cannot have the smallest allocation of the four.  (c) The near-miss option: Karnataka-12 is right, but Maharashtra is given 18, Bihar 19 and Tamil Nadu 16. Maharashtra has the largest Rajya Sabha delegation of these four (19), not Bihar.

Concept: The Rajya Sabha is the permanent second chamber of Parliament, constituted under Article 80. Its maximum sanctioned strength is 250 — in practice 245 members: 233 representing States and Union Territories plus 12 nominated by the President for distinction in literature, science, art and social service. The State-wise allocation is not equal but roughly proportional to population and is laid down in the Fourth Schedule; changing it requires amending that Schedule, which is why the numbers move only when States are created or reorganised. Members are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies through proportional representation by single transferable vote.

State PCS 2025 Q13 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2025 Q13 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer