Gujarat Legislative Assembly or Gujarat Vidhan Sabha is the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

legislature of the Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, in the state capital

Gandhinagar Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and Mum ...

. Presently, 182 members of the Legislative Assembly are directly

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

from single-member

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

(seats). It has a term of 5 years unless it is dissolved sooner. 13 constituencies are reserved for scheduled castes and 27 constituencies for scheduled tribes. From its majority party group or by way of a grand coalition cabinet of its prominent members,the state's Executive namely the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

is formed.

Since 1995 the Gujarat Legislative Assembly is controlled by the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

with a majority after elections.

History

Bhavsinhji Gohil, ruler of

Bhavnagar State Bhavnagar State was a princely state with 13 Gun Salutes during the British Raj. It was part of Kathiawar Agency in Saurashtra. The State of Bhavnagar covered an area of 2,961 sq. miles and had a population of 618,429 in 1941. Its ruler ...

, established ''The Peoples' Representative Assembly'' consisting of 38 members appointed by him. His succeeding son, Krishnakumar Sinhji, formed the Bhavnagar legislative assembly in 1941 having 55 members, consisting of 33 elected members, 16 nominated members by him and 6 ex-officio members. They had power to ask questions, move resolutions, discuss the budget and introduce bills in the assembly. This assembly used to meet at least twice in a year. Porbandar state assembly had same powers.

Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Ga ...

, ruler of Baroda State, had formed the Baroda legislative assembly in 1908. Since 1921, representatives were elected by the people of that area of the present Gujarat state except the princely states, and sent to the Bombay State legislative assembly. In 1952,

Saurashtra State Saurashtra, also known as United State of Kathiawar, was a State of India that existed between 1948 and 1956, on Saurashtra alias Kathiawar peninsula, with Rajkot as its capital, History Formation as United State of Kathiawar Saurashtra ...

legislative assembly was constituted after the independence of India. It was functional till 31 October 1956. Saurashtra State was merged into the Bombay State under the States Reorganization Act, 1956. On 1 May 1960, the Bombay State was bifurcated into

and Maharashtra states which resulted in formation of Gujarat legislative assembly. The 132 members of the former Bombay legislative assembly, elected from the territorial constituencies of Gujarat, formed the first Gujarat legislative assembly. The number of the members was increased to 154 in 1962, 168 in 1967 and 182 in 1975.

Location

After formation of

state in 1960, Ahmedabad was a capital of the state. The Assembly started functioning from the present day OPD building of

Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Ahmedabad Civil Hospital is a public hospital located in Ahmedabad, India, with facilities for specialised diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative patient care. The hospital campus spans of land and houses the Gujarat Medical Council and Gu ...

. The new capital city,

was built in 1971. Later assembly was shifted to Central Library building, sector-17,

on 11 February 1971. The new assembly building, Vithalbhai Patel Bhavan, was completed and inaugurated in 1982. Since then the Gujarat legislative assembly functions there.

Building

President

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (; 19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence ...

laid foundation stone of new assembly building, Vithalbhai Patel Bhavan on 20 March 1978. It was designed by H. K. Mewada, chief planner of

. The construction was completed in July 1982 and it is named after

Vithalbhai Patel Vithalbhai Patel (27 September 1873 – 22 October 1933) was an Indian legislator and political leader, co-founder of the Swaraj Party and elder brother of Sardar Patel. Early life Born in Nadiad, in the Indian state of Gujarat, Vithalbhai ...

, the first Indian speaker of

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometim ...

during the British period. It was inaugurated by the Governor Sharda Mukherjee on 8 July 1982. It is constructed with Reinforced concrete and the outer walls of the building is affixed with Dholpur light pink stones. The building is constructed on the 133 square metre platform amid a water pool having diameter of 200 metres. This central building was linked with the Ministerial Secretariat by bridges formerly but now new buildings are constructed in between known as Swarnim Sankul. The building is 33.45 metres high including its octagonal dome. The constructed area of building is 8100 square metres while the total built up area of square platform is 17689 square metres. It has four floors with total built up area of 43350 square metres or total carpet area of 16180 square metres. The entrance of the building is reached by a flight of steps. The Assembly hall is situated on the second floor. It is octagonal from inside. The octagonal roof is supported by eight V-shaped pillars and one pillar in the centre. These pillars tapers and forms octagonal dome on the hall. There is an arrangement of white floodlights on the top. The hall has a capacity of 232 seats though currently the assembly has only 182 elected members. The hall is viewed from the galleries on the third floor which has a capacity of 564 seats. There is a podium just under the Assembly hall which is used for ceremonies and functions. The downward floor of the Assembly hall makes an umbrella-like roof of the podium. The podium has some personal belongings of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...

on display. There are oil paintings of several national leaders, independence activists and personalities on its walls. It was constructed at the cost of 6 crore. The assembly building along with other government offices is in Sector 10 of Gandhinagar, a capitol complex spanning 370 acres.

List of speakers

Structure

At present, 13 constituencies are reserved for candidates of the

Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

, and 27 constituencies are reserved for candidates of the Scheduled tribes.

Members of Legislative Assembly

External links

Gujarat Legislative Assembly on eVidhan

Gujarat Election 2019 Results Website

Official definitions of Gujarat Legislative Assembly constituencies

References

Gujarat Assembly Elections - Nav Bharat Times
{{Authority control Politics of Gujarat State legislatures of India