Hyderabad: Telangana governor has approved the names Amer Ali Khan, news editor of Urdu newspaper The Siasat Daily, and Prof M Kodandaram, Telangana Jana Samithi president, for the MLC posts under Governor’s quota after they were nominated by the ruling Congress.
Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan approved the nominations on Thursday, January 25, filling two of the five vacant MLC seats in the Telangana Legislative Council.
The Election Commission of India has scheduled separate elections for the two vacant MLC posts under the MLA quota on January 29. Congress has named its working president Mahesh Goud and state NSUI President Venkat Balmoor as the candidates for election to two MLC seats under the MLAs quota.
With the Congress holding a majority in the Assembly, there is an expectation that the party will emerge victorious in both seats, strengthening its position in the state legislature.
Congress sources said a delay in finalising the nominations for MLC under Governor’s quota was caused as the state Cabinet was expected to announce the candidacies after Revanth Reddy’s return from the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Composition of the Telangana Legislative Council
The Telangana Legislative Council, serving as the upper house of the state legislature, comprises 40 members. Currently, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) dominates the house with 27 members.
With the appointment of Amer Ali Khan and M Kodandaram the Indian National Congress (INC) now has four MLC in the Council, and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has two.
Additionally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) each have one member, while the other two members are independents.
| Party | Number of members |
| BRS | 27 |
| INC | 4 |
| AIMIM | 2 |
| BJP | 1 |
| TJS | 1 |
| Independent | 2 |
With the governor approving nominations of two more MLCs, there are now three vacant seats in the Telangana Legislative Council, including two under the MLA quota, vacated after MLCs Kadiyam Srihari and Padi Kaushik Reddy were elected as MLAs in the recent assembly polls.
The upcoming MLC bypolls are likely to change the composition of Telangana Legislative Council.
Duties of MLCs in Telangana and other states
Although Legislative Councils in Telangana and other states are considered upper houses, the Indian Constitution grants them limited powers.
MLCs serve a fixed six-year tenure compared to MLAs, whose tenure is five years or less in the event of Assembly dissolution.
Regarding duties, MLCs have fewer responsibilities and powers than MLAs, as evident in the legislative bill passage procedure.
