The State Legislative Assembly, known in Hindi as the Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house (or, in unicameral states, the sole house) of the legislature in the states of India. It is the principal law-making body at the state level and is constituted under Part VI of the Constitution of India. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are directly elected by the people of the state from single-member territorial constituencies.
Key Facts
| Type | Lower house of state legislature (sole house in unicameral states) |
|---|---|
| Hindi name | Vidhan Sabha |
| Constitutional basis | Articles 168–212, Constitution of India |
| Members | Directly elected from territorial constituencies |
| Normal term | Five years from the date of its first sitting |
| Presiding officer | Speaker (assisted by the Deputy Speaker) |
| Minimum age for membership | 25 years |
| Electoral system | First-past-the-post |
| Election authority | Election Commission of India |
Constitutional framework
The Constitution of India provides for a legislature in every state. Under Article 168, a state legislature consists of the Governor and either one or two houses. Where there are two houses, they are the Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) and the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha); where there is only one house, it is the Legislative Assembly. Article 170 provides that an assembly shall consist of not more than 500 and not less than 60 members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies, though some states have smaller assemblies under specific constitutional provisions.
Composition and membership
Members of a Legislative Assembly are chosen by direct election on the basis of universal adult franchise. Constituencies are delimited so that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted is, so far as practicable, the same throughout the state. Seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their share of the state's population, in accordance with Article 332.
The Governor of the state may, under specific constitutional provisions, nominate a member from the Anglo-Indian community where applicable, subject to the law in force at the relevant time.
Qualifications
To be eligible for election to a Legislative Assembly, a person must:
- be a citizen of India;
- be at least 25 years of age;
- be an elector for an assembly constituency in the state; and
- satisfy the other qualifications prescribed by Parliament under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Term and sessions
Every Legislative Assembly, unless sooner dissolved, continues for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. The term may be extended by Parliament during a Proclamation of Emergency. The Governor summons each session, and the gap between two sessions of the Assembly cannot exceed six months.
Presiding officers
Each Assembly elects two of its members to be the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. The Speaker presides over sittings of the House, regulates debate, decides points of order, and certifies money bills. In the Speaker's absence, the Deputy Speaker performs these functions. The Speaker can be removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Assembly, after fourteen days' notice.
Powers and functions
The Legislative Assembly performs legislative, financial, executive-oversight, and electoral functions:
- Legislative: It can make laws on subjects in the State List and the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule. In bicameral states, ordinary bills may originate in either house, but the Assembly's will ultimately prevails over the Council.
- Financial: Money bills can be introduced only in the Assembly. The state budget is presented to and voted upon by the Assembly. The Council, where it exists, has only a recommendatory role on money bills.
- Executive accountability: The Council of Ministers, headed by the Chief Minister, is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly can remove the government through a vote of no confidence.
- Electoral: Elected members of state Legislative Assemblies form part of the electoral college for the election of the President of India, and they elect members of the Rajya Sabha and, where applicable, members of the Legislative Council from the Assembly's quota.
Relationship with the Legislative Council
In states with a bicameral legislature, the Legislative Assembly is the dominant house. A Legislative Council can delay but not defeat ordinary legislation passed by the Assembly. Money bills cannot be amended or rejected by the Council; it may only return them with recommendations within fourteen days.
Bicameral and unicameral states
Most Indian states have a unicameral legislature, with only the Legislative Assembly. A small number of states have a bicameral legislature, comprising both an Assembly and a Council. The creation or abolition of a Legislative Council requires a resolution of the concerned State Legislative Assembly passed by a special majority, followed by a law of Parliament under Article 169.
Legislative Assemblies of Union Territories
The Union Territories of Delhi (NCT), Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir have their own Legislative Assemblies, established under separate constitutional and statutory provisions, with powers and limitations distinct from those of full states.
Elections
General elections to State Legislative Assemblies are conducted by the Election Commission of India using the first-past-the-post system. Each constituency returns one member. The party or coalition commanding a majority of members in the Assembly forms the government, and its leader is appointed Chief Minister by the Governor.
Significance
State Legislative Assemblies are central to India's federal democratic structure. They translate regional priorities into law, hold state executives to account, and provide a forum for representing diverse linguistic, cultural, and social interests within each state. Their composition often shapes national politics through the indirect election of the President and the Rajya Sabha.
Related topics
- Parliament of India
- State Legislative Council
- Chief Minister
- Governor (India)
- Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- Election Commission of India
- Representation of the People Act, 1951
- Constitution of India
- Anti-defection law
- Delimitation Commission of India
References
- Constitution of India, Part VI (Articles 168–212).
- Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Representation of the People Act, 1951.
- Election Commission of India, official publications on general elections to State Legislative Assemblies.