The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab 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
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
of the state of
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The
Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly
Election for the Sixteenth Legislative Assembly was held in the Indian state of Punjab. Polling was done on 20 February 2022 to elect the 117 members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes declaration of results was done on 10 ...
was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117
members
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
, directly elected from
117 single-seat constituencies. The tenure of the Legislative Assembly is five years unless dissolved sooner. The Speaker of the sixteenth assembly is
Kultar Singh Sandhwan
Kultar Singh Sandhwan (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਕੁਲਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸੰਧਵਾਂ) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the 18th and current Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly from 21 March 2022. He is a ...
. The meeting place of the Legislative Assembly since 6 March 1961 is the ''Vidhan Bhavan'' in Chandigarh.
History
In the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
, an Executive Council was formed under
The Indian Councils Act, 1861. It was only under the
Government of India Act 1919
The Government of India Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5 c. 101) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of ...
that a
Legislative Council was set up in Punjab. Later, under the
Government of India Act 1935, the
Punjab Legislative Assembly
The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab (India), Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 ...
was constituted with a membership of 175. It was summoned for the first time on 1 April 1937. In 1947,
Punjab Province was partitioned into
West Punjab
West Punjab ( pnb, ; ur, ) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 159,344 km2 (61523 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Te ...
and
East Punjab
East Punjab (known simply as Punjab from 1950) was a province and later a state of India from 1947 until 1966, consisting of the parts of the Punjab Province of British India that went to India following the partition of the province between ...
and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly was formed, the forerunner of the current assembly consisting of 79 members.
After the
independence of India
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
, on 15 July 1948, eight princely states of East Punjab grouped together to form a single state,
Patiala and East Punjab States Union
Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constructe ...
. The Punjab State Legislature was a
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
house in April 1952, comprising the
Vidhan Sabha
The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislati ...
(lower house) and
Vidhan Parishad
The State Legislative Council, or Vidhan Parishad, or Saasana Mandali is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral state legislature; the lower house being the State Legislative Assembly. Its establishment is defined in Ar ...
(upper house). In 1956 that state was largely merged into Punjab, the strength of the Vidhan Parishad of the new State of Punjab was enhanced from 40 seats to 46 seats and in 1957, it was increased to 51. Punjab was trifurcated in 1966 to form
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
,
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
, and Punjab. The Vidhan Parishad was reduced to 40 seats and the Vidhan Sabha was grown by 50 seats to 104 seats. On 1 January 1970, the Vidhan Parishad was abolished leaving the state with a
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 multic ...
legislature.
Legislature
The
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
comprises the governor and the Punjab Legislative Assembly, which is the highest political organ in the state. The governor has the power to summon the assembly or to close the same. All members of the legislative assembly are directly elected, normally once in every five years by the eligible voters who are above 18 years of age. The current assembly consists of 117 elected members. The elected members select one of its own members as its Chairperson who is called the
speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
of the assembly. The speaker is assisted by the deputy speaker who is also elected by the members. The conduct of a meeting in the house is the responsibility of the speaker.
The main function of the
assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
is to pass laws and rules. Every bill passed by the house has to be finally approved by the governor before it becomes applicable.
The normal term of the legislative assembly is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting.
Sixteenth Assembly
Past election results
* ^ - Party didn't contest election
* ~ - Party didn't exist
* - Green color box indicates the party/parties who formed the government
* - Red color box indicates the official opposition party
List of Punjab Legislative Assemblies
See also
*
PEPSU
*
Interim East Punjab Assembly
*
List of governors of Punjab (India)
This is a list of the governors of Punjab state in India since its independence on 15 August 1947. Since 1985, the governor of Punjab has acted as the administrator of Chandigarh as well.
Rajpramukh of PEPSU (1948-1956)
Source:
Governors ...
*
List of constituencies of Punjab Legislative Assembly
The Punjab Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Punjab.
The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Chandigarh, the capital of the state. The term of the Legislative Assembly is five years, unless dissolved ...
*
List of Deputy Chief Ministers of Punjab (India)
The Deputy Chief Minister of the Punjab is a member of the Cabinet of Punjab Government in the Government of Punjab, India. Not a constitutional office, it seldom carries any specific powers. A deputy chief minister usually also holds a cabinet ...
*
List of Speakers of Punjab Legislative Assembly
In the Republic of India, the various central and state legislatures are presided by either a speaker (politics), Speaker or a Chairman. The Speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Punjab Legislative Assembly after the Elections in Pu ...
*
List of Leader of Opposition in Punjab Legislative Assembly
The Leader of the Opposition is the politician who leads the Official Opposition (India), official opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
Official Opposition
Official Opposition is a term used in Punjab Legislative Assembly to designa ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Unicameral legislatures