Uttar Pradesh Legislature Explained

Political Groups1:Government (83)

NDA (83)

Official Opposition (10)

SP (10)Other opposition (6)

JSD(L) (1)

IND (5)Vacant (1)

Vacant (1)

Party8:SP
Party9:BJP
Party10:SP
Election1:29 July 2019
Election2:19 March 2017
Election3:31 January 2021
Election5:19 March 2017
Election7:29 March 2022
Election9:19 March 2017
Election10:26 March 2022
Political Groups2:'Government (283)

NDA (283)

Official Opposition (110)

INDIA (107)

Other opposition (3)

JD(L) (2)

BSP (1)Vacant (10)

Vacant (10)

Party6:TBD
Structure1 Res:400px
Structure2 Res:400px
House1:Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council
House2:Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
Voting System1:Single transferable vote
Voting System2:First-past-the-post
Last Election1:4 May 2023
Last Election2:10 February - 7 March 2022
Next Election1:2024
Next Election2:February 2027
Meeting Place:Vidhan Bhavan, Lucknow
Session Res:350px
Website:
Party7:BJP
Party5:BJP
Uttar Pradesh Legislature
Leader9:Yogi Adityanath
Native Name:उत्तर प्रदेश विधानमंडल
Coa Res:225px
Coa Alt:Seal of Uttar Pradesh
Coa Caption:Seal of the Uttar Pradesh
House Type:Bicameral
Houses:Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (Upper House)
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Lower House)
Leader1:Anandiben Patel
Leader2:Yogi Adityanath
Leader3:Kunwar Manvendra Singh
Leader4:Vacant
Leader5:Keshav Prasad Maurya
Leader6:Lal Bihari Yadav
Leader7:Satish Mahana
Leader8:Vacant
Leader10:Mata Prasad Pandey
Party4:TBD
Leader1 Type:Governor
Leader2 Type:Chief Minister
Leader3 Type:Chairman
Leader4 Type:Deputy Chairman
Leader5 Type:Leader of House
Legislative Council
Leader6 Type:Leader of Opposition
Legislative Council
Leader7 Type:Speaker
Leader8 Type:Deputy Speaker
Leader9 Type:Leader of House
Legislative Assembly
Leader10 Type:Leader of Opposition
Legislative Assembly
Party2:BJP
Party3:BJP
Constitution:Constitution of India
Election6:July 2024
Seats:503

The Uttar Pradesh Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It composed of the governor and both the houses of state legislature. The governor in his/her role as head of the legislature and has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of legislature or to dissolve the Vidhan Sabha. The governor can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the chief minister and his Council of Ministers. The legislature meets 3 times a year at Vidhan Bhavan in Lucknow.

Composition

The Uttar Pradesh Legislature consists of two houses, namely the Vidhan Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad, with the governor acting as their head.

Governor

The Governor of the Uttar Pradesh acts as the head of the legislature and enjoys all executive, legislative and discretionary powers of the state. The governors of the states of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the president of India at the central level. The Governor is appointed by the President of India for the term of 5 years.

Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)

The Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council) or the Upper House is a permanent body not subject to dissolution. One-third of the members retire every second year and are replaced by newly elected members.

Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)

The Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) or the lower house has 403 members. Members are directly elected by citizens of the state on the basis of universal adult franchise representing assembly constituencies across the state.Every citizen of India who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, or race and is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to vote for members of the Legislative Assembly.

It has a term of five years. To be eligible for membership in the Legislative Assembly, a person must be a citizen of India and must be 25 years of age or older, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt, and should not be criminally convicted.

Sessions of the Legislature

The period during which the both houses meet to conduct their business is called a session. The constitution empowers the governor to summon each house at such intervals that there should not be more than a six-month gap between the two sessions. Hence the Legislature must meet at least twice a year. In India, the legislature of each state conducts three sessions each year:

Meeting Place

See main article: articles and Vidhan Bhavan, Lucknow. The Vidhan Bhavan located at VS Marg in Lucknow, the capital of the state serves as the seat and the meeting place for both the houses of the legislature. All three sessions of the legislature held here only. The building was designed by Samuel Swinton Jacob and Heera Singh; Singh also drew up the blueprint of the building. Butler subsequently monitored the construction of the building. The building was completed in little over five years at a cost of ₹21 lakh (equivalent to ₹36 crore or US$4.6 million in 2020) (1922 cost not adjusted for inflation) and was inaugurated on 21 February 1928.

See also