The State Executive & The State Legislature

Governor

       ·        The governors and lieutenant-governors of the states and union territories of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at Union level. 

·        Governors exist in the states while lieutenant-governors exist in union territories and in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

·        Governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies in the hand of the chief ministers of the states and the chief minister's Council of Minister .

·        In India, a lieutenant governor is in charge of a Union Territory. However the rank is present only in the union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi and Puducherry

·        However the governor of Punjab acts as the administrator of Chandigarh.

Qualifications:

A governor must:

·        be a citizen of India;

·        be at least thirty-five (35)years old;

·        not be a member of the either house of the parliament or house of the state legislature.

·        not hold any other office of profit.

Points to Remember:

The term of governor's office is normally 5 years but it can be terminated earlier by:

1.    Dismissal by the president on the advice of the prime minister of the country, at whose pleasure the governor holds office.

2.    Resignation by the governor

·        There is no provision of impeachment, as it happens for the president.

·        The governor enjoys many different types of powers:

1.    Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals,

2.    Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislature, that is Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad,

3.    Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the governor.

State Legislature

·        The legislature of State consist of the Governor and one or two Houses.

·        The Indian Constitution allows states to have either a unicameral or bicameral legislature.

·        State governments legislatures are bicameral in seven states (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) and unicameral in the rest.

Legislative Assembly/ Vidhan Sabha / विधान सभा

·        Legislative Assembly, is the lower house (in states with bicameral) or the sole house (in unicameral states) of the provincial (state) legislature in the different states of India.

·        Members of a Vidhan Sabha are direct representatives of the people of the particular state as they are directly elected by an electorate consisting of all citizens above the age of 18 of that state

·        Its maximum size as outlined in the Constitution of India is not more than 500 members and not less than 60 members.

·        However, the size of the Vidhan Sabha can be less than 60 members through an Act of Parliament: such is the case in the states of Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram and the Union Territory of Puducherry

·        The Governor can appoint 1 member to represent minorities, e.g. the Anglo-Indian community, if he finds inadequately representation in the House.

·        Those elected or nominated (by the Governors) to Vidhan Sabha are referred to as members of Legislative Assembly or MLAs.

·        Each Vidhan Sabha assembles for a five-year term, after which all seats are up for election. During a State of Emergency, its term may be extended past five years or it may be dissolved.

 Legislative Council/ Vidhan Parishad / विधान परिषद

·        Legislative Council is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral legislature. 

·        Legislative Council is a permanent body and cannot be dissolved

·        Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) serves for a six-year term, with terms staggered so that the terms of one-third of a Council's members expire every two years.

Qualification:

·        MLCs must be citizens of India, at least 30 years' old, mentally sound, not an insolvent, and on the voters' list of the state for which he or she is contesting an election.

·        He or she may not be a Member of Parliament at the same time.

Points to Remember:

·        The size of the Vidhan Parishad cannot be more than one-third the membership of the Vidhan Sabha

·        However, its size cannot be less than 40 members (except in Jammu and Kashmir, where there are 36 by an Act of Parliament.)

Number of Seats and Type of Legislature in States

State	Legislature	Size
West Bengal	Unicameral	295
Tamil Nadu	Unicameral	234
Madhya Pradesh	Unicameral	231
Rajasthan	Unicameral	200
Gujarat	Unicameral	182
Orissa	Unicameral	147
Kerala	Unicameral	141
Assam	Unicameral	126
Punjab	Unicameral	117
Haryana	Unicameral	90
Chhattisgarh	Unicameral	90
Jharkhand	Unicameral	81
Himachal Pradesh	Unicameral	68
Arunachal Pradesh	Unicameral	60
Tripura	Unicameral	60
Nagaland	Unicameral	60
Manipur	Unicameral	60
Meghalaya	Unicameral	60
Goa	Unicameral	40
Mizoram	Unicameral	40
Sikkim	Unicameral	32
Uttarakhand	Unicameral	70
Pondicherry	Unicameral	30
Delhi	Unicameral	70

State	Legislature	Size
Uttar Pradesh	Bicameral	404 + 100
Maharashtra	Bicameral	289 + 78
Bihar	Bicameral	243 + 75
Karnataka	Bicameral	224 + 75
Jammu and Kashmir	Bicameral	89 + 36
Andhra Pradesh	Bicameral	175 + 50
Telangana	Bicameral	119 + 40