Just as Parliament makes laws for the Union, every State has its own State Legislature that makes laws for the State. CDS and OTA papers regularly test whether you know the difference between a bicameral and a unicameral legislature, the powers of the two Houses, and the rules for creating or abolishing the Council. This page covers all of it in plain, exam-ready language.
Why State Legislatures matter in the CDS exam
The polity section of CDS and OTA is factual and stable, which makes it one of the safest scoring areas. Within polity, the State Legislature is a favourite because it lets examiners test small but precise facts — numbers of members, terms of Houses, and which State has which kind of legislature.
The State Legislature is dealt with in Articles 168 to 212 of the Constitution. Article 168 states that for every State there shall be a Legislature, which consists of the Governor and one or two Houses.
State Legislature = Governor + Legislative Assembly (and, where it exists, the Legislative Council). Just as the President is part of Parliament, the Governor is part of the State Legislature, even though the Governor does not sit in either House.
This single fact — that the Governor is a constituent part of the legislature — is repeatedly tested, because students wrongly treat the Governor as a separate executive only. The Governor summons and prorogues the Houses, can dissolve the Assembly, addresses the legislature, and gives assent to bills, so the law-making process is incomplete without the Governor.
Bicameral and unicameral: the core distinction
The words look technical but the idea is simple. Cameral comes from a Latin root meaning “chamber” or “House”.
- Unicameral means one House. The State has only a Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha).
- Bicameral means two Houses. The State has both a Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and a Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad).
Most Indian States are unicameral — they have only the Assembly. Only a handful of States have the second House, the Council.
As of the standard CDS syllabus position, six States have a Legislative Council: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Every other State is unicameral. Learn this short list cold — it is asked directly.
The Legislative Council is not compulsory. The Constitution permits a State to have one, but it is not a requirement. A State can create or abolish its Council without amending the Constitution in the normal way.
At the Union level India is always bicameral (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha). At the State level, bicameralism is optional. This difference between the compulsory Union arrangement and the optional State arrangement is exactly the kind of contrast examiners love to test.
Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)
The Legislative Assembly is the lower House and the more powerful of the two. Its members, called MLAs, are directly elected by the people from territorial constituencies on the basis of universal adult franchise.
Strength
Under Article 170, the Assembly shall consist of not more than 500 and not fewer than 60 members.
- The maximum is 500; the minimum is 60.
- Some small States have a specially permitted lower number — for example Sikkim, Goa and Mizoram have fewer than 60 seats under special provisions.
- Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population.
Normal term of the Legislative Assembly is five years from the date of its first sitting. It can be dissolved earlier by the Governor. The term can be extended during a National Emergency, one year at a time, but not beyond six months after the emergency ends.
Earlier, the Governor could nominate one member from the Anglo-Indian community to the Assembly if that community was not adequately represented; this provision was discontinued by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019. This mirrors the change made for the Lok Sabha, so questions often pair the two.
Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)
The Legislative Council is the upper House, found only in bicameral States. Its members are called MLCs. Like the Rajya Sabha, it is a continuing (permanent) body that is not subject to dissolution.
Strength and term
- Under Article 171, the strength of a Council shall not exceed one-third of the total strength of the Assembly of that State.
- The strength shall in no case be fewer than 40 members.
- Each member has a term of six years; one-third of the members retire every two years, exactly like the Rajya Sabha.
Council strength is between 40 and one-third of the Assembly strength. Term of each MLC is 6 years, with one-third retiring every 2 years.
How the Council is composed
The composition is a mix of indirect elections and nomination. Of the total members:
- About 1/3 are elected by members of local bodies (municipalities, district boards, etc.).
- About 1/12 are elected by graduates of three years’ standing residing in the State.
- About 1/12 are elected by teachers of at least three years’ standing (secondary school level and above).
- About 1/3 are elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly itself.
- The remaining (about 1/6) are nominated by the Governor from persons distinguished in literature, science, art, the cooperative movement and social service.
Remember the manner of choosing members as “5/6 elected, 1/6 nominated”. The fractions 1/3, 1/12, 1/12, 1/3 and 1/6 add up to the whole House — a neat memory check that examiners exploit.
Creating and abolishing a Legislative Council
This topic gives some of the highest-yield CDS questions because the procedure is unusual and easy to misremember.
Under Article 169, Parliament may by law create or abolish a Legislative Council in a State. But Parliament will do so only if the Legislative Assembly of that State first passes a resolution to that effect.
The two-step process
- The State Legislative Assembly passes a resolution by a special majority — a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
- On the basis of that resolution, Parliament passes a law (by simple majority) to actually create or abolish the Council.
Article 169 law is not treated as a constitutional amendment under Article 368, even though it changes the structure of a State legislature. It can be passed by an ordinary parliamentary majority once the State Assembly resolution is in place.
The initiative must come from the State Assembly, not from Parliament on its own and not from the Council. Parliament cannot force a Council on an unwilling State, and the Assembly resolution is only a recommendation — Parliament is not bound to act on it.
Powers: why the Assembly is stronger
Where a State has two Houses, the Assembly clearly dominates — far more so than the Lok Sabha dominates the Rajya Sabha. The Council is largely an advisory and revising body.
Ordinary bills
An ordinary bill may start in either House (if bicameral). If the Assembly passes a bill and the Council rejects it, delays it, or suggests amendments the Assembly does not accept, the Assembly may pass it again. If the Council still does not pass it, the bill is deemed passed in the form the Assembly wants. The Council can delay an ordinary bill by a maximum of about four months in total (three months on first reference plus one month on the second).
The Legislative Council has no power to overrule the Assembly. At most it can delay an ordinary bill for about four months. There is no joint sitting mechanism at the State level (unlike Article 108 for Parliament).
Money bills
A Money Bill can be introduced only in the Assembly, never in the Council. After the Assembly passes it, the Council can keep it for a maximum of 14 days and may only make recommendations. The Assembly is free to accept or reject those recommendations, and the bill is deemed passed regardless.
Contrast the State and Union upper Houses: both the Rajya Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad can hold a Money Bill for only 14 days. But the Rajya Sabha is far more equal in other respects, while the Vidhan Parishad is decisively weaker than its Assembly.
Qualifications and presiding officers
To become a member of a State Legislature, a person must be a citizen of India, take an oath before the Election Commission’s authorised person, and meet age limits:
- 25 years minimum for the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
- 30 years minimum for the Legislative Council (MLC).
Presiding officers
- The Assembly is presided over by the Speaker, assisted by the Deputy Speaker, both elected from among the MLAs.
- The Council is presided over by the Chairman, assisted by the Deputy Chairman, both elected from among the MLCs.
A key contrast: in the Rajya Sabha the presiding officer (Vice-President) is not a member of the House. But in the Legislative Council, the Chairman is a member of the Council, elected by its own members. This difference is a classic trap.
The Speaker of the Assembly decides whether a bill is a Money Bill, conducts the proceedings, maintains order, and exercises a casting vote in case of a tie. The Speaker also rules on disqualification of members under the anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule), subject to judicial review.
Worked example: maximum size of a Council
These numerical limits are a reliable source of one-mark questions. Let us work through a typical calculation step by step.
The Legislative Assembly of a State has 294 members. What is the maximum permissible strength of its Legislative Council, and what is the minimum the Constitution allows for any Council?
Note the reasoning: the one-third figure is an upper ceiling, not the actual number. The real strength is fixed by the law that created the Council and is often below the ceiling. The number 40 is an absolute minimum that applies to every Council regardless of Assembly size.
Students sometimes compute one-third and then forget the floor of 40, or they apply the 40-minimum to the Assembly. The minimum of 40 is for the Council; the Assembly’s minimum is 60.
Sessions, sittings and the Governor’s role
The Governor performs several legislative functions that bind the two Houses together into one legislature.
- Summoning each House to meet, with a gap of not more than six months between two sessions.
- Proroguing the Houses (ending a session) and dissolving the Legislative Assembly.
- Addressing the legislature, especially at the start of the first session after each general election and at the start of each year.
- Giving or withholding assent to bills, or reserving certain bills for the consideration of the President.
The maximum gap between two sessions of a House is six months, so a State Legislature must meet at least twice a year. The same six-month rule applies to Parliament.
The Governor can also issue ordinances under Article 213 when the legislature is not in session and immediate action is needed. An ordinance has the same force as a law but must be laid before the legislature and ceases to operate six weeks from the reassembly of the House unless approved earlier.
Previous-year style question
CDS questions on this topic are usually direct factual statements. Practise spotting the precise wording.
Q. Consider the following statements about the Legislative Council in India:
1. A Legislative Council can be created or abolished by Parliament on a resolution passed by the State Legislative Assembly by a special majority.
2. The strength of a Legislative Council cannot exceed one-third of the strength of the Legislative Assembly of that State.
3. Members of the Legislative Council are directly elected by the people.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: Statements 1 and 2 only. Statement 3 is wrong — MLCs are not directly elected; they are chosen through indirect election (by local bodies, graduates, teachers and MLAs) and partly by nomination by the Governor. Statements 1 (Article 169) and 2 (Article 171) are both accurate.
In “which statements are correct” questions, one statement is almost always a true-looking fact with a single wrong word (here, “directly elected”). Read every statement to the end before choosing.
Quick revision
- State Legislature = Governor + Assembly (+ Council where it exists); Articles 168–212.
- Unicameral = one House (Assembly only); bicameral = two Houses (Assembly + Council).
- Only six States have a Council: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh.
- Assembly: 60–500 members, directly elected, term 5 years, MLA age 25.
- Council: 40 to 1/3 of Assembly, permanent body, term 6 years (1/3 retire every 2 years), MLC age 30.
- Council created/abolished under Article 169 — Assembly special-majority resolution, then Parliament by ordinary law (not a constitutional amendment).
- Assembly dominates: Council can delay an ordinary bill ~4 months and a Money Bill only 14 days; no joint sitting at State level.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a bicameral and a unicameral State Legislature?
A unicameral legislature has only one House, the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha). A bicameral legislature has two Houses, the Assembly plus a Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad). Most Indian States are unicameral; only six have a Council.
Which States in India have a Legislative Council?
Six States have a Legislative Council: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. All other States are unicameral, with only a Legislative Assembly.
How is a Legislative Council created or abolished?
Under Article 169, the State Legislative Assembly must first pass a resolution by a special majority. Parliament then passes a law by ordinary majority to create or abolish the Council. This law is not treated as a constitutional amendment under Article 368.
How long is the term of an MLA and an MLC?
The Legislative Assembly has a five-year term and can be dissolved earlier, so MLAs serve up to five years. The Legislative Council is a permanent body; each MLC serves six years, with one-third of the members retiring every two years.
Is the Legislative Council as powerful as the Assembly?
No. The Council is mainly an advisory and revising body. It can delay an ordinary bill by only about four months and a Money Bill by just 14 days, and it cannot overrule the Assembly. There is no joint-sitting mechanism at the State level.
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