The member of Rajya Sabha are …

1. As per Article 80 of the Indian Constitution, the maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha cannot exceed 250. The present strength of the upper house, however, is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry, while the remaining 12 are nominated by the President of India.

2. The members nominated by the President are people having a distinctive knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, art and social service.

3. The representatives of States and Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the method of indirect election by the elected members of Legislative Assembly pertaining to each State and by the members of Electoral College for that Union Territory, respectively, through the proportional representation with the single transferable vote (STV) system. Each voter’s vote is counted only once.

4. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent House and is not subject to dissolution. However, one-third members of the Council of States retire after every second year. A member who is elected for a full term serves for a period of six years.