The Composition of Vidhan Sabha (The Legislative Assembly):
(i) There is a Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) in every State. It represents the people of State. The members of Vidhan Sabha are directly elected by people on the basis of universal adult franchise. They are directly elected by all adult citizens registered as voters in the State.
(ii) All men and women who are 18 years age and above are eligible to be included in the Voters' List. They vote to elect members of State Assembly.
(iii) Members are elected from territorial constituencies. Every State is divided into as many (single member) constituencies as the number of members to be elected.
(iv) As in case of Lok Sabha, certain number of seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes, and in some States for Scheduled Tribes also. This depends on population of these weaker sections of the State.
(v) In order to become a Member of Vidhan Sabha a person must:
(a) be a citizen of India.
(b) have attained the age of 25 years.
(c) his/her name must be in voters' list.
(d) must not hold any office a profit.
(vi) The number of Vidhan Sabha members cannot be more than 500 and not less than 60. However, very small states have been allowed to have a lesser number of members. Thus Goa has only 40 members in its Assembly. Uttar Pradesh (is a big state even after creation of Uttarakhand state in 2002) has 403 seats in the Assembly.
(vii) The Governor of the State has the power to nominate one member of Anglo-Indian community if this community is not adequately represented in the House.
(viii) As in case of the Lok Sabha, some seats are reserved for the members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The tenure of Vidhan Sabha is for five years, but the Governor can dissolve it before the completion of its term on the advice of Chief Minister. It may be dissolved by the President in case of Constitutional emergency proclaimed under Article 356 of the Constitution.
(ix) In case of proclamation of national emergency (under Article 352), the Parliament can extend the term of the Legislative Assemblies for a period not exceeding one year at a time.
