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 सà¤ा
·
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
|