Punjab Legislative Assembly

The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha () is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in northern India. At present, it consists of 117 members, directly elected from 117 single-seat constituencies. The tenure of the legislative assembly is five years, unless sooner dissolved. The current speaker of the Assembly is Nirmal Singh Kahlon. The meeting place of the legislative assembly since 6 March 1961 is the Vidhan Bhavan in Chandigarh.

History

History of the Punjab Legislative Assembly can be traced back to 1861, when for the first time, under the Indian Councils Act 1861, efforts were made to establish some representative institution in the form of an Executive Council. But, it was only under the Government of India Act 1919 that a Legislative Council was set up in Punjab. Later, under the Government of India Act 1935, the Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted with a membership of 175. It was summoned for the first time on 1 April 1937.

Immediately before the independence of India in 1947, Punjab Province was partitioned into West Punjab and East Punjab and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly came into existence. It consisted 72 members of the undivided Punjab Legislative Assembly representing the constituencies that fell within the area of East Punjab in India. After the independence, the Punjab State Legislature became bicameral for the first time in April 1952, comprising two houses, Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) and Vidhan......
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