Introduction to State Legislature
🧭 Introduction: Position of the State Legislature
Just like the Parliament at the Centre makes laws for the entire country, the State Legislature makes laws for the state.
In fact, the State Legislature is the most important institution in the political system of a state. It represents the will of the people and performs law-making, budgetary, and oversight functions for the state government.
👉 Articles 168 to 212 of the Indian Constitution (Part VI) deal with every aspect of the State Legislature —
its organisation, composition, duration, officers, procedures, privileges, and powers.
So, whenever you read these Articles, you can think of them as the “mini version” of the Parliament chapter, but applied to the state level.
⚙️ Organisation of State Legislature
Now comes the interesting part — not all states have the same structure.
There is no uniformity in how state legislatures are organised.
Some states have only one House, while a few have two Houses.
Let’s understand both types clearly:
1️⃣ Unicameral Legislature (One House System)
- Most states in India have this system.
- It means the state legislature consists of only one house — the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha).
- Along with it, there is also the Governor, who is a part of the legislature (just as the President is part of Parliament).
So, in such states:
State Legislature = Governor + Legislative Assembly
2️⃣ Bicameral Legislature (Two House System)
Some states have two Houses, just like the Parliament has Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
In these states:
State Legislature = Governor + Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) + Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)
- The Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) is called the Lower House or First Chamber — it represents the people directly.
- The Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) is called the Upper House or Second Chamber — it represents special groups like teachers, graduates, and local bodies, somewhat like the Rajya Sabha at the Centre.
📜 Present Status: Which States Have Two Houses?
Currently, only six states in India have a bicameral legislature:
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
🧩 A few important facts:
- The Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council was abolished under the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019.
- Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Act, 2010 was passed but never came into force.
- In Andhra Pradesh, the Legislative Council was first created in 1957, abolished in 1985, and then revived again in 2007 after Parliament passed the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Act, 2005.
- The 7th Amendment Act of 1956 had even provided for a Legislative Council in Madhya Pradesh, but since no notification was issued by the President, it remains unicameral till today.
Hence, 22 states continue to have a unicameral system.
🧩 Article 169 – Creation or Abolition of Legislative Council
This is a very important provision for UPSC — it shows how flexible our Constitution is.
- Article 169 allows Parliament to create or abolish a Legislative Council in any state.
- But this process starts from the Legislative Assembly of that state.
Here’s how it works:
- The State Legislative Assembly must pass a resolution recommending creation or abolition of the Council.
- This resolution must be passed by a special majority, i.e.:
- A majority of the total membership of the Assembly, and
- A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
- Once this resolution is passed, the Parliament can pass an Act to implement it.
- Interestingly, this Act of Parliament is not treated as a Constitutional Amendment (under Article 368); it is passed like an ordinary law by simple majority.
So, the centre respects the state’s decision but executes it through Parliament.
💬 Why This Flexibility?
In the Constituent Assembly Debates, the idea of having a second chamber at the state level faced criticism.
Some members said:
- It was not truly representative of the people.
- It delayed the legislative process.
- It was costly to maintain.
Therefore, the Constitution-makers left the choice to each state —
“If your state can afford it, and if you find it useful — go ahead; otherwise, you can do without it.”
That’s why states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and West Bengal have at different times created and abolished their Legislative Councils based on their circumstances and political decisions.
🧭 Example Timeline for Clarity
| State | Event |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Created in 1957, abolished in 1985, revived in 2007 |
| Tamil Nadu | Abolished in 1986, Act for revival passed in 2010, but before it came into force, the Assembly reversed its decision in 2011 |
| Punjab & West Bengal | Abolished their Legislative Councils in 1969 |
🏛️ Composition of the two Houses
Remember:
Just like Parliament has Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,
the states with a bicameral legislature have
👉 Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and
👉 Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council).
Let’s understand both one by one.
🧩 Composition of Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)
Strength (Number of Members)
- The Legislative Assembly is the lower house and directly elected by the people.
- Elections are held on the basis of universal adult franchise — meaning, every citizen above 18 years of age has the right to vote.
👉 The maximum strength of the Legislative Assembly is 500,
and the minimum strength is 60.
So, depending on the population of the state, the size of the assembly can vary between 60 to 500 members.
However, there are special provisions for some smaller states:
| State | Minimum Strength |
|---|---|
| Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Goa | 30 |
| Mizoram | 40 |
| Nagaland | 46 |
🔹 In Sikkim and Nagaland, some members are indirectly elected as well.
Nominated Member (Anglo-Indian Representation)
Before 2020, the Governor could nominate one member from the Anglo-Indian community to the Assembly if the community was not adequately represented.
- Originally, this was to continue only for 10 years (till 1960).
- But it kept being extended every 10 years through successive constitutional amendments.
- The last extension was done by the 95th Amendment Act, 2009, valid till 2020.
- The 104th Amendment Act, 2019, however, ended this special provision.
🛑 So, from 25th January 2020, there is no nomination for Anglo-Indians in any legislature (either in Parliament or state assemblies).
Territorial Constituencies (Delimitation)
For holding elections, each state is divided into territorial constituencies, and from each constituency, one member is elected.
Now, the Constitution ensures that:
The ratio between the population of a constituency and its number of seats must be the same throughout the state.
In simple words — each constituency should represent roughly the same number of people, so that representation is equal and democracy remains fair.
Here, population means the population as per the last published census.
Readjustment After Each Census
After every Census, two things can be readjusted:
- The total number of seats in the Assembly of each state, and
- The boundaries (division) of constituencies.
But here’s the twist 👇
🧱 Freeze on Readjustment
- The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 froze these numbers till the year 2000 based on the 1971 Census.
- This was done to encourage population control — so that states that succeeded in family planning were not punished with fewer seats.
- Later, the 84th Amendment Act, 2001 extended this freeze till 2026.
- However, the same amendment allowed rationalisation of constituencies within a state, using 1991 census figures.
- The 87th Amendment Act, 2003 updated this to the 2001 Census data.
So, to summarise:
✅ Boundaries can be rationalised,
❌ But the total number of seats per state remains frozen till 2026.
For these purposes, Parliament enacted Delimitation Commission Acts in 1952, 1962, 1972, and 2002.
Reservation of Seats for SCs and STs
To ensure representation of weaker sections, the Constitution provides:
- Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in each state assembly.
- The number of reserved seats is proportional to their population in that state.
Initially, this reservation was to last till 1960, but it kept being extended every 10 years.
Now, under the 104th Amendment Act, 2019, the reservation will continue till 2030.
🧩 Composition of Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)
Now let’s turn to the upper house at the state level — the Legislative Council.
Strength
- The Legislative Council is not directly elected by the people.
- It’s designed as a representative house of various interests — local bodies, teachers, graduates, etc.
- The Constitution fixes:
- Maximum strength: 1/3rd of the total strength of the Assembly.
- Minimum strength: 40 members.
👉 So, the Council’s size depends on the size of the Assembly, ensuring the Assembly always remains dominant.
Example:
If a state assembly has 120 members, the council can have a maximum of 40 members (i.e., 1/3rd of 120).
The actual strength of each council is fixed by Parliament through a law.
Manner of Election (Article 171)
The Legislative Council represents different sections of society through an indirect election process.
Here’s how its members are chosen:
| Source of Election / Nomination | Fraction of Total Members | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣ Local Bodies (Municipalities, District Boards, etc.) | 1/3 | Elected by members of local bodies |
| 2️⃣ Graduates | 1/12 | Elected by graduates of at least 3 years’ standing, residing in the state |
| 3️⃣ Teachers | 1/12 | Elected by teachers of at least 3 years’ standing (teaching beyond secondary level) |
| 4️⃣ Members of Legislative Assembly | 1/3 | Elected by MLAs from among non-MLAs |
| 5️⃣ Governor’s Nominees | Remainder (about 1/6) | Nominated by the Governor from persons having special knowledge or experience in literature, science, art, cooperative movement, or social service |
🔹 In short:
5/6 of members are indirectly elected,
and 1/6 are nominated by the Governor.
🗳️ The election is held by Proportional Representation using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system — ensuring fairness among multiple interest groups.
📘 Note:
The Constitution calls this arrangement “tentative”, meaning Parliament can modify it in the future — but so far, no change has been made.
⏳ Duration of the Two Houses
Now that we know who forms the houses, let’s see how long they exist.
⏰ Duration of Legislative Assembly
- Like the Lok Sabha, the Legislative Assembly is not a continuing house.
- Its normal term is 5 years from its first meeting after general elections.
After 5 years, it automatically dissolves, unless:
- The Governor dissolves it earlier, or
- The term is extended during a National Emergency.
During National Emergency:
- Parliament can extend the Assembly’s term by one year at a time.
- However, once the Emergency ends, the Assembly must be re-elected within 6 months.
👉 This ensures democracy resumes quickly once normalcy returns.
🕰️ Duration of Legislative Council
- The Council is like the Rajya Sabha — a permanent house, not subject to dissolution.
- However, one-third of its members retire every two years.
- Hence, each member serves a six-year term.
- Vacancies are filled through fresh elections and nominations at the start of every third year.
And yes — retiring members can be re-elected or re-nominated any number of times.