In the Republic of India, the various central and state legislatures are presided by either a Speaker or a Chairperson. A speaker is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha and of the legislative assembly of each of the twenty-eight states and three union territories. Similarly a chairperson heads the Rajya Sabha and the legislative council of each of the six states, where the upper house in the state legislature exists.
This is the list of current Speakers and Chairpersons of both houses of the Parliament of India (respectively):
| House | Portrait | Speaker | Party | Deputy Speaker | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lok Sabha |  | Om Birla | BJP | Vacant | N/A | ||
| House | Portrait | Chairperson [a] | Party | Portrait | Deputy Chairperson | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rajya Sabha |  | Jagdeep Dhankhar | BJP |  | Harivansh Narayan Singh | JD(U) | ||
This is the list of current Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the legislative assemblies of the Indian states and union territories: [1]
This is the list of current Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of the legislative councils of the Indian states:
| State | Portrait | Chairperson | Party | Portrait | Deputy Chairperson | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | K. M. Raju | YSRCP | Zakia Khanam | YSRCP | ||||
| Bihar | Awadhesh Narain Singh | BJP | Ram Bachan Rai | JD(U) | ||||
| Karnataka |  | Basavaraj Horatti | BJP |  | M. K. Pranesh | BJP | ||
| Maharashtra | Neelam Gorhe (acting) | SS | Neelam Gorhe | SS | ||||
| Telangana |  | Gutha Sukender Reddy | BRS | Banda Prakash | BRS | |||
| Uttar Pradesh |  | Kunwar Manvendra Singh | BJP | Vacant | N/A | |||
Politics of India works within the framework of the country's Constitution. India is a parliamentary secular democratic republic in which the president of India is the head of state & first citizen of India and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. It is based on the federal structure of government, although the word is not used in the Constitution itself. India follows the dual polity system, i.e. federal in nature, that consists of the central authority at the centre and states at the periphery. The Constitution defines the organizational powers and limitations of both central and state governments; it is well recognised, fluid and considered supreme, i.e. the laws of the nation must conform to it. India is officially declared a secular and socialist state as per the Constitution.
The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023, it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots, while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social service. The total allowed capacity is 250 according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution. The current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245, after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past-the-post system to represent their respective constituencies, and they hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the president on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Parliament House, New Delhi.
The Government of India is the government of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territories. The government is led by the prime minister who exercises the most executive power and selects all the other ministers. The country has been governed by a NDA-led government since 2014. The prime minister and their senior ministers belong to the Union Council of Ministers—its executive decision-making committee being the cabinet.
India has a parliamentary system as defined by its constitution, with power distributed between the union government and the states. India's democracy is the largest democracy in the world.
The speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections. The speaker does not enjoy a security of tenure and his term is subjected to the pleasure of the house i.e. can be removed anytime by a resolution of the Lok Sabha by a majority of the all the then members of the house. The longest-serving speaker was Balram Jakhar, whose tenure lasted 9 years and 329 days.
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district (constituency) to the legislature of State government in the Indian system of government. From each constituency, the people elect one representative who then becomes a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). Each state has between seven and nine MLAs for every Member of Parliament (MP) that it has in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's bicameral parliament. There are also members in three unicameral legislatures in Union Territories: the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the Puducherry Legislative Assembly. Only a Member of the Legislative Assembly can work as a minister for more than 6 months. If a non-Member of the Legislative Assembly becomes a Chief Minister or a minister, he must become an MLA within 6 months to continue in the job. Only a Member of the Legislative Assembly can become the Speaker of the Legislature.
This is a brief description of the lawmaking procedure in India.
Bhagat Singh Koshyari is an Indian politician who served as the 22nd governor of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2023. An RSS veteran, Koshyari served as National Vice-President of BJP and party's 3rd State president for Uttarakhand. He also served as 2nd Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2001 to 2002 and thereafter, was the leader of the opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2003. He also served as an MLC in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and MLA in Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. He later served as an MP in Rajya Sabha from 2008 to 2014 from Uttarakhand and then the MP in the 16th Lok Sabha from Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar constituency, earning him the distinction of being elected in both houses of State Legislature and both houses of National Parliament respectively.
The Government of Uttar Pradesh is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of India. The Governor of Uttar Pradesh is appointed for a period of five years and appoints the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and their council of ministers, who are vested with the executive powers of the state. The governor remains a ceremonial head of the state, while the chief minister and their council are responsible for day-to-day government functions.
Bihar Government is the state government of the Indian state of Bihar and its nine divisions which consist of districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Bihar, a judiciary and legislative branches.
State Governments of India are the governments ruling over the 28 states and 3 union territories of India with the head of Council of Ministers in every state being the Chief Minister. Power is divided between the Union government and the state governments.
The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha presides over the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. The deputy chairperson is elected internally by the Rajya Sabha.
Elections in the state of Bihar, India are conducted in accordance with the Constitution of India. The Assembly of Bihar creates laws regarding the conduct of local body elections unilaterally while any changes by the state legislature to the conduct of state level elections need to be approved by the Parliament of India.
Although a parliamentary democracy, Indian politics has increasingly become dynastic, possibly due to the absence of a party organization, independent civil society associations that mobilize support for the party, and centralized financing of elections. Family members have also led the Congress party for most of the period since 1978 when Indira Gandhi floated the then Congress(I) faction of the party. It also is fairly common in many political parties in Maharashtra. The dynastic phenomenon is seen from national level down to district level and even village level.The three-tier structure of Panchayati Raj established in the 1960s also helped to create and consolidate the dynastic phenomenon in rural areas. Apart from government, political families also control cooperative institutions, mainly cooperative sugar factories, district cooperative banks in the state, and since the 1980s private for profit colleges. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party also features several senior leaders who are dynasts. In Maharashtra, the NCP has particularly high level of dynasticism.
Elections in the Indian union territory of Puducherry are conducted every five years to elect members to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly and members of parliament to the Lok Sabha. There are 30 assembly constituencies and 1 Lok Sabha constituency. The union territory has conducted 14 assembly elections and 15 Lok Sabha elections since independence.
