How does the State

Government
Work ?
 State Government
• Every state has a government
which works for the welfare of
the people. The state
government is headed by the
Governor. However, the
Governor only enjoys nominal
authority. The real authority is
with the council of ministers
headed by the Chief Minister.
 Who is a Governor ?
• The Governor is the
nominal head of the
state. He is
appointed by the
President on the
advice of the Prime
Minister for a term of
five years.
Governor of Maharashtra
 The role of the Governor
• The Governor is the constitutional head of the state.
All administrative decisions are carried out in his
name. He appoints the leader of majority party in the
assembly as Chief Minister and on his advice the
Council of Ministers etc is appointed. No bill can
become a law without his approval. He also has the
power to reserve a bill for the President’s
consideration. He can even issue ordinances if the
legislature is not in session. Every year he causes the
state budget to be laid in the State Legislative
Assembly.
 Who is an MLA ?
• MLA or the Member of Legislative
Assembly is an elected
representative of people who
presents people’s demands in front
of the government in the Legislative
Assembly. Every state in India is
divided into different areas or
constituencies. From each
constituency people elect one
representative who is called
Member of Legislative Assembly,
they belong to different political
parties.
 An example of selection of MLAs
• Over here we can cite the
example of Orissa where Biju Party Won
Janta Dal (BJD) got the majority
of MLAs and formed the
government for the third INC 26
consecutive time. Since Indian
National Congress got the next BJP 7
number of seats it became the
opposition party. After the BJD 109
election, the MLAs of BJD met to
choose their leader. The Chief OTHERS 5
Minister and his council of
minister were given the task of
running various departments.
What is State Legislature ?
• The State Legislature is of two
types – Unicameral and
Bicameral. In India the states of
Jammu and Kashmir, UP, Bihar,
Maharashtra and Karnataka
have two houses or a bicameral
legislature. The legislative
assembly is the lower house and
the legislative council is the
upper house. The other states
only have State Legislative
Assembly.
 Election of the state legislative
• The members of State Legislative Assembly are elected
directly by the people on the basis of Universal Adult
Franchise for a term of 5 years. The members of state
legislative council are elected by the following bodies :-
• 1/3rd members are elected by local self governing bodies.
• 1/3rd members are elected members of Vidhan Sabha.
• 1/12th members are elected by graduates.
• 1/12th members are elected by teachers of secondary
schools.
• 1/6th members are nominated by the state Governor.
• 1/3rd of the members retire after every 2 years.
 A debate in the Legislative
Assembly
• There was a cholera outbreak in Palam
district over which an assembly was held.
The MLAs gave their opinions and asked
questions while the Minister was obliged to
answer. The Chief Minister and his Council of
Ministers is responsible and answerable to
the Legislative Assembly. The opposition
MLAs were blaming the Chief Minister and his
government while the ruling party MLAs were
supporting the CM.
 The effect of the debate
• After the Assembly session, the Health Minister
and the Chief Minister addressed a Press
Conference on the remedial steps to be taken by
the Government, as media took up the voice of
the people. A committee was entrusted to look
into the matter and suggest solutions. Various
other departments like Public Works department,
Agriculture ministry etc were also asked to look
into the matter and were instructed to take
measures to solve the problem.
Thank you