The State Legislative Assembly, also known as the Vidhan Sabha or the Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in each of the states and certain union territories of India.

Members of the legislative assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...

are often directly elected to serve five year terms from

single-member constituencies A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a Multiwinner voting, multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as ...

. A legislative assembly may be dissolved in a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

, by the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

on request of the

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

of the respective state or union territory, or if a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

is passed against the ruling majority party or coalition.

Definition and powers

As per the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

, where there is a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

legislature, the legislative body is termed as the legislative assembly. In

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

jurisdictions, there exists a State Legislative Council. The legislative assembly has the power to create or abolish the legislative council of the respective state or union territory by passing a resolution to that effect by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting. The term of a legislative assembly is fixed at five years unless it is dissolved prior to it. In certain cases such as an emergency of the state, the term can be extended by the

Indian parliament The Parliament of India (ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President o ...

for one year at a time. The

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the respective state shall convene the assembly periodically, with no more than six months gap between consecutive sessions. The assembly is presided over by a speaker, who shall be a member of the assembly and elected by the members of that constituent assembly. The state legislature has the power to enact laws concerning state subjects as defined in the constitution. The union territories which have a legislature have certain restrictions in terms of these powers. In a bicameral legislature, a legislative assembly holds equal legislative power with the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the state legislature, the State Legislative Council, in terms of passing of bills except in case of

money bill In the Westminster system (and, colloquially, in the United States), a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending (also known as appropriation of money), as opposed to changes in public law. Con ...

s. A normal bill can originate in any of the house, and is deemed to be passed only if it is cleared by both houses. If a bill is passed by the legislative assembly, it should not be held for more than three months by the council. If the bill is sent back by the council, and is again passed by the assembly, the council is expected to act on it within one month. If the time elapses or if it is sent back, the bill is deemed to have been passed with or without any amendments if any are made by the legislative assembly. In case of money bills, it shall be introduced only in the assembly, and the assembly can accept or reject the recommendations if any that are communicated from the council. A

against the government in the state can only be introduced in the state legislative assembly. If it is passed by a majority vote, then the

and her/his

council of ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

must collectively resign.

Members

The

states that a legislative assembly must have no less than 60 members and a maximum of 500 members. However an exception may be granted via an act of the

and is the case in the states of

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

and the union territory of Puducherry which have fewer than 60 members. A

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) is directly elected from

, which are divided roughly equally based on the population of the region. The number of seats may be revised following a census by an act of the parliament. A few assemblies have nominated members such as the case of Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry. To become a

Member of Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several national ...

, a person must be of minimum 25 years of age and be a citizen of India. He/she might not hold any other government office, and should declare the information required by the election commission including any

criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...

s against him or her. After the election of a member, he/she is expected to take an oath of affirmation. The members are paid salaries and allowances as fixed by the respective assemblies. A member of the assembly may resign on his/her own accord. A member can also be disqualified if found to hold another office of profit in the government, is of no sound mind, has been declared insolvent, or ineligible by a court of law. Members of the assembly are exempt from any legal cases arising out of what has been said in the assembly.

Legislative assemblies

In 22 states and three union territories, there is a

unicameral legislature Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

which is the sole legislative body. In six states, the legislative assembly is the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of their

bicameral legislature Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is 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 ...

with the

being the State Legislative Council. Five union territories are governed directly by the union government and have no legislative body.

By ruling party

The

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

-led

National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

is in power in 20 legislative assemblies; the

Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance of several List of political parties in India, political parties in India led by the country's largest opposition party ...

is in power in nine legislative assemblies; One legislative assembly is ruled by other party and one legislative assembly is under the President's rule. State- and union territory-level parties

State- and union territory-level parties

Defunct assemblies

References

External links

Legislative Bodies in India
website {{DEFAULTSORT:State Legislative Assembly *