Chapter III of Part VI of the
Constitution is concerned with the
State Legislature.
It comprises state legislature and
executives.
Articles 168 to 212 in Part VI of the
Constitution deal with the
organisation, composition, duration,
officers, procedures, privileges,
Bicameral and Unicameral
States
What is a Unicameral State?
It is a form of the legislature where only one
house (one central unit) exists to make and
implement laws for the state/country.
What is a Bicameral State?
It is a legislative body with two houses. India is
one such example where there are two houses
both at union and also at 6 of its 28 states. In a
bicameral legislature, the function to
administer and implement the laws are shared
between the two houses.
At the state level, six of the 28 state legislatures
have two houses:
Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)
Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)
The names of the six states having bicameral
legislature are:
Andhra Pradesh
Bihar
Karnataka
Maharashtra
Telangana
Uttar Pradesh
State government is a unit of government that
looks after the day-to -day administration of states.
Each state has its own government to effectively
carry out the functions of government.
The formation of state government involves the
following steps:-The party which gets more than
50% of seats in the assembly is called the Ruling or
Majority Party.
The majority party members elect one member
among themselves as their leader who is made the
Chief Minister of the state by the Governor.
The Chief Minister selects from among party
MLAs to be ministers.
Together they are called the Cabinet (or
ministry) or the government.
The Cabinet is responsible for implementation
of the laws, for implementing development
plans and for preparing and passing new laws
and welfare schemes in the Assembly.
All other parties other than the ruling party
form the Opposition.
Size
State/
Legislatur
Union
e type Lower[2] Upper[3] Total
Territory
Andhra Prad Bicameral 175 58 233
esh
Arunachal P Unicameral 60 — 60
radesh
Assam Unicameral 126 — 126
Bihar Bicameral 243 75 318
Chhattisgar Unicameral 90 — 90
h
Delhi Unicameral 70 — 70
Goa Unicameral 40 — 40
Gujarat Unicameral 182 — 182
Haryana Unicameral 90 — 90
Himachal Pr Unicameral 68 — 68
adesh
Jharkhand Unicameral 81 — 81
Karnataka Bicameral 224 75 299
Kerala Unicameral 140 — 140
Madhya Prade Unicameral 230 — 230
sh
Maharashtra Bicameral 288 78 366
Manipur Unicameral 60 — 60
Meghalaya Unicameral 60 — 60
Mizoram Unicameral 40 — 40
Nagaland Unicameral 60 — 60
Odisha Unicameral 147 — 147
Puducherry Unicameral 33[a] — 33
Punjab Unicameral 117 — 117
Rajasthan Unicameral 200 — 200
Sikkim Unicameral 32 — 32
Tamil Nadu Unicameral 234 — 234
Telangana Bicameral 119 40 159
Tripura Unicameral 60 — 60
Uttar Pradesh Bicameral 403 100 503
Uttarakhand Unicameral 70 — 70
West Bengal Unicameral 294 — 294
Total — 4,126 426 4,547
The state executive is made up of the
Governor - Power, Tenure, Qualifications, Appointment
Governor, Chief Minister, Council of
Ministers, and Advocate-General of State.
Governor, as President, heads the state
government. Article 153-167 in the Indian
Constitution deal with the provisions related
to the state governments of the country.
Governor is a titular head or constitutional
head and at the same time, he is the agent of
the centre as the union government
nominates Governor in each state.
How is a Governor Appointed?
The Indian President appoints Governor for each
state by warrant under his hand and seal.
Central Government is responsible to nominate the
governor for each state.
Unlike elections of the President, there is no direct
or indirect election for the post of Governor.
The office of a governor is not a part of the union
executive and is an independent constitutional
office. The governor doesn’t serve the union
government and neither is subordinate to it.
The nomination of a governor by the Union and his
appointment by the President in India is based on
the Canadian model of government.
What is the term of the Governor’s office?
Since the Governor holds the office under the pleasure of
the President, his office has no fixed term. President
can remove the Governor and the grounds upon which he
may be removed are not laid down in the constitution.
Governor may also get transferred from one state to
another by the President. He also can be reappointed.
Governor may sit in the office beyond 5 years (expiry of
the term) till the new governor assumes the charge of the
office.
At President’s discretion, the Chief Justice of the High
Court of the concerned state can also be appointed as the
Governor on a temporary basis when and how the
President thinks fit. (Example – On the governor’s death,
Who is qualified to become a Governor?
Unlike Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha members or even in
the case of Prime Minister or President who have a
set of qualifications to meet to hold the office;
Governor has to meet only two qualifications:
He should be an Indian Citizen
He should be 35 years old or more
Note: There are two conventions that the
government follows before nominating a person as a
Governor:
That person is not appointed as the governor who
belongs to the state. He shall be an outsider having
no relation with the state he is being appointed to.
Consultation of the Chief Minister is taken by the
What are the powers and functions of the Governor?
Executive Powers of the Governor
Every executive action that the state government takes, is to be taken
in his name.
How an order that has been taken up his name is to be authenticated,
the rules for the same can be specified by the Governor.
He may/may not make rules to simplify the transaction of the business
of the state government.
Chief Ministers and other ministers of the states are appointed by him.
It is his responsibility to appoint Tribal Welfare Minister in the states
of:
Chattisgarh
Jharkhand
Madhya Pradesh
Odisha
He appoints the advocate general of states and
determines their remuneration
He appoints the following people:
State Election Commissioner
Chairman and Members of the State Public
Service Commission
Vice-Chancellors of the universities in the state
He seeks information from the state
government
A constitutional emergency in the state is
recommended to the President by him.
The governor enjoys extensive executive
powers as an agent of the President during the
President’s rule in the state.
Legislative Powers of the Governor
It’s in his power to prorogue the state legislature
and dissolve the state legislative assemblies
He addresses the state legislature at the first
session of every year
If any bill is pending in the state legislature,
Governor may/may not send a bill to the state
legislature concerning the same
If the speaker of the legislative assembly is absent
and the same is Deputy Speaker, then Governor
appoints a person to preside over the session
As President nominates 12 members in Rajya
Sabha, Governor appoints ⅙ of the total members
of the legislative council from the fields of:
Literature
Science
Art
Cooperative Movement
Social Service
As President nominates 2 members in the Lok Sabha,
Governor nominates 1 member in state legislative assembly
from Anglo-Indian Community.
He can consult Election Commission for the disqualification of
members
With respect to the bill introduced in the state legislature, he
can:
Give his assent
Withhold his assent
Return the bill
Reserve the bill for the President’s consideration (In instances
where the bill introduced in the state legislature endangers the
Financial Powers of the Governor
He looks over the state budget being laid in the state
legislature
His recommendation is a prerequisite for the
introduction of a money bill in the state legislature
He recommends for the demand for grants which
otherwise cannot be given
Contingency Fund of State is under him and he
makes advances out that to meet unforeseen
expenditure.
Judicial Powers of the Governor
He has the following pardoning powers against
punishment:
Pardon
Reprieve
Respite
Remit
Commute
President consults the Governor while appointing judges
of High Court.
In consultation with the state High Court, Governor
makes appointments, postings, and promotions of the
district judges.
In consultation with the state high court and state public
service commission, he also appoints persons to the
judicial services.
Chief Minister and Council of
Ministers
As a real executive authority, the Chief Minister is
called the head of the government.
He is assisted by his council of ministers who are
a part of state executive along with Governor and
Advocate-General of State.
Similar to Prime Minister who is the head of the
government at the centre, the Chief Minister is
the head of the government at the state level.
How is a Chief Minister appointed?
Just like the Prime Minister, provisions of whose
appointment are not mentioned in the Indian
Constitution, Chief Minister’s appointment
particulars are not mentioned in the Constitution.
According to Article 164 in the Indian
Constitution, Governor appoints Chief Minister.
However, the Governor cannot appoint any
random person as the Chief Minister but has to
follow a provision.
A leader of the party that has got the majority
share of votes in the assembly elections, is
appointed as the Chief Minister of the state.
When no party gets a majority in the elections, governor
exercises his own discretion and appoint a Chief Minister
accordingly.
In a case where no party has won the majority votes,
Governor appoints the member of the largest party or one
from the coalition (if occurs) as the Chief Minister and then
he is given 1 month time to prove confidence in the house.
If the incumbent dies in the office, Governor at his own
discretion can appoint a Chief Minister however, the ruling
party nominates a member and Governor usually appoints
that person as the Chief Minister. This person then has to
prove confidence within a specified time.
A person not belonging to either house (Legislative Assembly
& Council) can also be appointed as the Chief Minister,
however, within six months of his tenure as a CM he should
be elected to either house without which he ceases to be a
CM.
Chief Minister can belong to any house in the State
Legislature.
What is the main function of the Chief Minister?
The CM of the state performs functions in relation to the
different categories of people:
In relation to the Council of Ministers
In relation to the Governor
In relation to the State Legislature
Other than that, he also performs the following functions:
He chairs the State Planning Board
He is a vice-chairperson of the concerned zonal
council by rotation, holding that office for a period
of one year at a time
He is a member of Inter-State Council and National
Development Council which are headed by the
Prime Minister.
In Relation to the Council of Ministers
The Chief Minister is the head of state council of
ministers. He performs the following functions:
He recommends to the governor on who to appoint as
ministers
He designates or reshuffles the portfolios of the
ministers
He can ask a minister to resign
Meeting of the council of ministers is headed by him
All activities of the ministers are guided and
controlled by the Chief Minister
If he resigns, the entire council of ministers collapses.
Note: If the CM dies (or resigns), the council
automatically dissolves.
In Relation to the Governor
In relation to the governor, the Chief Minister performs
the following functions:
All the activities, decisions that are taken up by the
council of ministers are communicated to the governor
by the chief minister
To report to the governor, information about the
administrative affairs if and when asked by the governor
If any minister has decided on any issue, the same has
to be reported to the Governor by the Chief Minister
when the same has not been considered by the council.
He gives his advice to the governor for the appointment
of the following persons:
Advocate-General
Chairman of state public service commission
The state election commission, etc.
In Relation to the State Legislature
He is the leader of the house and holding this
position, he performs the following functions:
Before a governor prorogues and summons the
sessions of the state legislature, the Chief
Minister’s advice is a must
Legislative Assembly can be dissolved at any
time on his recommendation to the governor
All government policies are announced by him on
the floor of the house.
Composition of Council of Ministers
The size of the council is not mentioned in the
Indian Constitution. Chief Minister decides the
size and the rank of the ministers as per the
requirement in the State Legislature.
There are three categories of Council of
Ministers:
Cabinet Ministers
Ministers of State
Deputy Ministers
Collective Responsibility
The provision of collective responsibility is dealt with by Article
164. The Article mentions that the council of ministers are
collectively responsible to the state legislature.
This means that all the ministers own joint responsibility to the
legislative assembly for all their acts of omission and
commission.
Note:
When the legislative assembly passed a no-confidence motion
against the council, all the ministers of the council have to
resign including those belonging to Legislative Council too.
The council of ministers can advise the governor to dissolve
the legislative assembly on the ground that the House does not
represent the views of the electorate faithfully and call for
fresh elections. The governor may not oblige the council of
ministers which has lost the confidence of the legislative
assembly.
•
Articles related to State Council of Ministers
These articles are attached to the council of ministers. Refer to these in the table given below:
The state secretarial consists of departments of
state government which are headed politically by
the ministers and administratively by the
secretaries.
The chief secretary Is the head of the entire state
secretariat while a secretary is a head of one or two
departments. The secretary is a senior
administration officer of generalist variety.
The secretary is the secretary to the state
government as a whole and not to the individual
minister concerned. The number of secretariat
departments vary from state to state and may
ranges from 15 to 40 departments.
The departments which are common to
most of the states are:
General Administration
Home
Finance
Revenue
Irrigation and Power
Civil supplies
Transport
Agriculture
Panchayati Raj
Education
Health
Industries
The secretary heads the department
and acts as a principal adviser of the
minister on administrative and policy
matters.
He is personally responsible for the
observance of Rules of Business and
other activities of his department.
He represents his department and
can be called a link with other
departments of the government.
He issues instructions and orders distribution of
work among the staff and is responsible for the
organization and efficiency of the department.
The additional secretary may function as
secretary in relation to subjects allotted to his
charge.
He is the de facto head and deals directly with
the minister.
The deputy secretary acts on behalf of the
secretary.
Functions of State Secretariat
It is the center of the political and administrative functions of the
state.
It aids the policymakers on all the issues related to the state.
It functions as the advisory expert committee to the state.
It facilitates internal harmony among the various departments.
It consolidates the various policies and programs of the
government.
It advises the minister in formulating the draft of the bills.
It supports the formulation of rules and regulations.
It prepares the budget and controls public spending.
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