State legislative assemblies of India explained

The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha,[1] also called Vidhana Sabha, or Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in each of the states and certain union territories of India. In 28 states and 8 union territories, there is a unicameral legislature which is the sole legislative body. In 6 states, the legislative assembly is the lower house of their bicameral legislature with the upper house being the State Legislative Council. 5 union territories are governed directly by the Union Government of India and have no legislative body.

Each Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is directly elected to serve 5-year terms by single-member constituencies. The Constitution of India states that a State Legislative Assembly must have no less than 60 and no more than 500 members however an exception may be granted via an Act of Parliament as is the case in the states of Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram and the union territory of Puducherry which have fewer than 60 members. A State Legislative Assembly may be dissolved in a state of emergency, by the Governor on request of the Chief Minister, or if a motion of no confidence is passed against the ruling majority party or coalition.[2]

Member of Legislative Assembly

See main article: Member of the Legislative Assembly (India). To become a member of a State Legislative Assembly, they must have their name in the voters' list of the state for which they are contesting an election. They may not be a Member of Parliament and Member of the State Legislative Council at the same time. They should also state that there is no criminal procedures against him or her. A State Legislative Assembly holds equal legislative power with the upper house of the state legislature, the State Legislative Council, except in the area of dissolution of state government and passing of money bills, in which case the State Legislative Assembly has the ultimate authority.

Powers of legislative assemblies are given down below:

Current State Legislative Assemblies

Legislative Assembly Seat(s) House
size[4]
Ruling party Current term
Andhra Pradesh175Telugu Desam PartySixteenth
Arunachal PradeshItanagarBharatiya Janata PartyEleventh
Bharatiya Janata PartyFifteenth
Janata Dal (United)Seventeenth
ChhattisgarhRaipur90Bharatiya Janata Party
Aam Aadmi PartySeventh
Bharatiya Janata PartyEighth
Gujarat182Bharatiya Janata PartyFifteenth
ChandigarhBharatiya Janata PartyFourteenth
Himachal PradeshIndian National CongressFourteenth
Jammu and Kashmir90N/A
(President's rule)
Jharkhand Mukti MorchaFifth
Karnataka224Indian National Congress
Communist Party of India (Marxist)Fifteenth
Bharatiya Janata PartySixteenth
Shiv SenaFourteenth
Bharatiya Janata PartyTwelfth
National People's PartyEleventh
Zoram People's MovementNinth
Nationalist Democratic Progressive PartyFourteenth
Bharatiya Janata PartySeventeenth
30All India N.R. CongressFifteenth
Aam Aadmi PartySixteenth
Bharatiya Janata PartySixteenth
Sikkim Krantikari MorchaEleventh
Dravida Munnetra KazhagamSixteenth
Indian National CongressThird
Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
UttarakhandBharatiya Janata PartyFifth
All India Trinamool CongressSeventeenth
Total 4123

State Legislative Assemblies by ruling parties

Ruling party States/UTs
NDA (20)[5]
Bharatiya Janata Party13
Telugu Desam Party1
Shiv Sena1
Janata Dal (United)1
All India N.R. Congress1
Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party1
National People's Party1
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha1
INDIA (9)[6]
Indian National Congress3
Aam Aadmi Party2
All India Trinamool Congress1
Communist Party of India (Marxist)1
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam1
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha1
Others (1)
Zoram People's Movement1

The Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance is in power in 20 legislative assemblies; the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance is in power in 9 legislative assemblies; 1 legislative assemblies are ruled by other parties/alliances; and 5 union territories do not have a legislative assembly. The Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has not had elections to form a government and President's rule has been imposed there.

Former State Legislative Assemblies

AssemblySeatPeriod activeAbolished by
Ajmer Legislative Assembly1950–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Bombay Legislative Assembly1950–1960 Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960.
Bhopal Legislative Assembly1949–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Coorg Legislative Assembly1950–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
East Punjab Legislative Assembly1947–1966 Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.
Hyderabad Legislative Assembly1952–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
PEPSU Legislative Assembly1950–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Madhya Bharat Legislative AssemblyIndore
Gwalior
1948–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Madras Legislative Assembly1947–1969 .
Saurashtra Legislative Assembly1948–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly1949–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Vindhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly1948–1956 States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Vidhan_Sabha . . . 2014.
  2. Web site: State Legislative Assemblies . https://web.archive.org/web/20180425183923/https://www.india.gov.in/sites/upload_files/npi/files/coi_part_full.pdf . 2018-04-25 . 2018-12-12 . www.india.gov.in.
  3. Web site: Explainer: Why Jagan Reddy wants to abolish the legislative council in Andhra Pradesh. .
  4. Web site: Terms of the Houses. 28 August 2022. Election Commission of India. en-IN.
  5. Web site: 2023-07-19. Explained: The 38 parties in the NDA fold. 2023-07-25. The Indian Express. en.
  6. Web site: Ghosh. Sanchari. 2023-07-19. INDIA from UPA: Opposition's push for a new name explained. 2023-07-25. mint. en.