Home The Constitution Part VI Article 182

Art. 182 Part VI: The States

The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council

Exact text — Constitution of India

The Legislative Council of a State having such a Council shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the Council to be respectively Chairman and Deputy Chairman thereof and, so often as the office of Chairman or Deputy Chairman becomes vacant, the Council shall choose another member to be Chairman or Deputy Chairman, as the case may be.

In Plain English

What this Article actually means

Unlike the Rajya Sabha (whose Chairman is the externally-appointed Vice-President), a state's Legislative Council chooses BOTH its Chairman and Deputy Chairman entirely from among its own members — a notably different design from the Union's Upper House arrangement.

Why This Matters To You

How it shows up in everyday life

This is a meaningful structural difference between the Rajya Sabha and a state Legislative Council — the state Upper House is fully self-governing in choosing its own presiding officers, without any equivalent to the Vice-President's ex-officio Chairmanship role.

Read alongside this one

Art. 89 — The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States

Frequently Asked

Quick answers about Article 182

Why doesn't a state Legislative Council have an externally-appointed Chairman like the Rajya Sabha does?

There's no state-level equivalent office to the Vice-President that could serve this ex-officio role — the Council's presiding officer structure was instead designed to be fully internally elected.

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The text above reproduces Article 182 of the Constitution of India as amended to date, for general educational reference. It is public-domain legislative text, but we recommend cross-checking the authoritative version at legislative.gov.in or india.gov.in before relying on it for a legal matter. The explanation, examples and FAQs are general information, not legal advice — consult a qualified advocate for guidance on your specific situation.