UPPSC 2025 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 13 of 150

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.

• (a)A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4 — 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)A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3 — 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)A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1 — 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.

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.

Rather than memorising all 28 rows, learn the top of the table and reason down: Uttar Pradesh 31 (the largest), Maharashtra 19, Tamil Nadu 18, Bihar 16, West Bengal 16, Karnataka 12, Andhra Pradesh 11, Madhya Pradesh 11, Gujarat 11, Rajasthan 10. In this question that ordering alone decides it — Maharashtra must take the biggest number of the four (19) and Karnataka the smallest (12), which eliminates three options in one move. A useful sanity check is that a State's Rajya Sabha strength is always far below its Lok Sabha strength (Uttar Pradesh: 31 versus 80).

• Rajya Sabha seats for these States: Maharashtra 19, Tamil Nadu 18, Bihar 16, Karnataka 12; Uttar Pradesh has the most at 31
• Article 80(1) caps the House at 250 — a maximum of 238 representing the States and Union Territories, plus 12 nominated by the President. The actual strength today is 245 (233 elected + 12 nominated); 250 sanctioned vs 245 actual is a standard trap
• The State-wise allocation of Council of States seats is set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution
• Rajya Sabha members are elected by the elected MLAs of the State by proportional representation with the single transferable vote; term six years, one-third retiring every two years
• The House is never dissolved (Article 83) — it is a continuing chamber, and the Vice-President is its ex-officio Chairman

• Assuming every State gets an equal number of seats, as in the US Senate — Indian allocation is population-based
• Mixing up a State's Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha strengths (Uttar Pradesh: 31 and 80 respectively)
• Forgetting the 12 nominated members when asked for the total, or quoting 250 (the sanctioned maximum) instead of 245 (the actual strength)

UPPSC asks it as a State-to-seat matching item and has repeated the format across cycles, sometimes narrowing it to Uttar Pradesh's own numbers; UPSC prefers the constitutional route — which Schedule allocates the seats, who votes in Rajya Sabha elections, and what powers the House uniquely holds.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which State has the largest number of seats in the Rajya Sabha?

  • (a)Maharashtra
  • (b)Uttar Pradesh
  • (c)Bihar
  • (d)West Bengal

  Answer(b) Uttar Pradesh — 31 seats, ahead of Maharashtra's 19 and Tamil Nadu's 18.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in the Council of States is contained in which Schedule of the Constitution of India?

  • (a)Second Schedule
  • (b)Third Schedule
  • (c)Fourth Schedule
  • (d)Seventh Schedule

  Answer(c) Fourth Schedule — the Second lists emoluments, the Third the forms of oath and the Seventh the Union, State and Concurrent Lists.