Houses present in the State Legislature are as follows:
Every State has a legislature. Some States have one House while others have two. Where there is one chamber, it is known as the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and where there are two Houses, the Upper
ADVERTISEMENTS:
House is called Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) and the Lower House is known as Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha).
Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir have two Houses, whereas others have only one House.
Image Source: i.ytimg.com
1. Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha):
Total membership of a Legislative Assembly varies in each State according to its population. Generally, one member represents 75,000 people and no Legislative Assembly can have more than 500 or fewer than 60 members. Some seats may be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
The Assembly elects a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among its own members. The normal term of the Assembly is five years. While a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, the term of the Assembly may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case beyond a period of six months after the Proclamation has ceased to operate.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The Assembly may be dissolved earlier than the fixed period. The qualifications for membership of the Legislative Assembly are: The candidate should (1) be a citizen of India, (2) be not less than 25 years of age, and (3) possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed by Parliament.
2. Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad):
The maximum strength of this Council must not be more than one-third of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of the State but it must not be less than 40.
One-third of its members are elected by the local bodies; one-third by the Legislative Assembly of the State (persons elected must not be members of the State Assembly); one-twelfth by the University graduates of at least three years’ standing, one-twelfth by teachers of at least three years’ standing in secondary schools or the higher institutions of the State and one-sixth to be nominated by the Governor from among persons distinguished in literature, science or social service.