Revision summary
The UP Assembly has 403 elected seats and a five-year term unless dissolved. A Speaker runs the House at Lucknow; the State is bicameral with a 100-member Council. Powers are State legislation, exclusive money bills, and the budget. Functions include questions, committees, and the floor test. The Council cannot finally stop a money bill.
Model answer
Introduction
The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the directly elected lower House of a bicameral legislature. A discussion must cover 403 seats, officers, law-making, money, and control of the Council of Ministers.
Body
Composition
- The Assembly has 403 elected members; the old nominated Anglo-Indian seat ended with the 104th Constitutional Amendment, 2019.
- Members are chosen by adult suffrage from territorial constituencies for a normal term of five years under Article 172, unless dissolved earlier.
- A Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected from among members; a Secretariat runs the House at Vidhan Bhawan, Lucknow.
- Uttar Pradesh also has a Legislative Council of 100 members, so money bills and deadlocks follow the bicameral rules of Articles 168–169 and 197–198.
Powers
- The Assembly makes laws on the State List and, subject to Union supremacy, on the Concurrent List.
- Money bills originate only here; the Council may recommend but cannot finally block them.
- It passes the annual budget, supplementary demands, and cut motions, which is the core power of the purse.
- It elects Uttar Pradesh’s members of the Rajya Sabha and is the House whose majority the Chief Minister must command.
Functions
- Legislation, budget, and interpellation through questions, adjournment, and no-confidence are the daily functions.
- Subject committees and the Public Accounts Committee audit the executive after the Comptroller and Auditor General.
- The House is the floor-test body when the Governor must know who has majority in a 403-member House.
Limit
- Ordinance-making by the Governor, party whips, and a large House can thin debate, so composition is democratic while function depends on committee time.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD E[403 elected MLAs] --> S[Speaker House] S --> Law[State Concurrent laws] S --> Mon[Budget money bills] S --> Ex[Control of Council of Ministers]
Conclusion
The UP Legislative Assembly is a 403-member elected House with the powers to legislate, tax, and unseat a ministry. Its functions are law, budget, and accountability; the Council only qualifies money and some bills in a bicameral State.
Quick related
Students also ask
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"Citizen Charter should be of the Citizen, by the Citizen and for the Citizen." Discuss with special reference to Uttar Pradesh.
Next question in the 2025 paper (Q17). View answer →
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Is UP unicameral?
No. It has a Vidhan Sabha of 403 and a Vidhan Parishad of 100.
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Who chooses the Chief Minister?
The Governor appoints the person who commands a majority in the 403-member Assembly, tested on the floor if needed.
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