Legislative Assembly
Also called: Vidhan Sabha · Topic: Parliament: Composition, Powers and Law-making · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 10 "Grassroots Democracy – Part 1: Governance"; Class 8, Ch 5 "Universal Franchise and India's Electoral System"; Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Legislature"
Meaning
The Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, is the lower House of a state legislature. The people of the state elect its members directly. It has between 60 and 500 members (Art. 170), and a few small states are allowed fewer. Its normal term is five years (Art. 172), but it can be dissolved earlier. The state Council of Ministers, led by the Chief Minister, is responsible to it. That means the government stays in office only while it has the Assembly's support.
Example
Money bills in a state can start only in the Assembly. Where a state also has a Legislative Council, the Council can delay an ordinary bill for at most four months and a money bill for 14 days. After that, the Assembly's view wins. Seats are reserved for SCs and STs (Art. 332), and women's reservation will apply once it takes effect (Art. 332A).
Don't confuse with
- Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad): the upper House found in only a few states. It is permanent and partly indirectly elected, and it is much weaker than the Assembly.
- Lok Sabha: the directly elected House at the Union level, not the state level.