As per the provisions of Article 168 of the Constitution of India, every state has a state legislature consisting of one or two Houses. Rajasthan has a unicameral character (only Vidhan Sabha) and its legislature is known as the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly or Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha. The present Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is situated in the capital city of Jaipur.
Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha was first formed in March 1952 and this process is continuing with the exceptions of 1967, 1977, 1980 and 1992 when the Presidential Rule was in force. The current Legislative Assembly, which is the 15th Assembly of the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha, was elected in 2018.
Organisation of Rajasthan Legislature:
Rajasthan has a Unicameral System of State legislature meaning Rajasthan only has State Legislative Assembly or Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha.
Strength & Constituencies of Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha:
The strength of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly which is determined by delimitation Commission, was 160 in 1952. Currently, there are a total of 200 Assembly constituencies in Rajasthan, which are represented by 200 MLAs or Members of Legislative Assembly.
At present, 34 constituencies are reserved for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled castes and 25 are reserved for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled tribes.
District-wise list of number of Constituencies:
S.No. | District | No. of Constituencies |
1 | Ajmer | 8 |
2 | Alwar | 11 |
3 | Banswara | 5 |
4 | Baran | 4 |
5 | Barmer | 7 |
6 | Bharatpur | 7 |
7 | Bhilwara | 7 |
8 | Bikaner | 7 |
9 | Bundi | 3 |
10 | Chittorgarh | 5 |
11 | Churu | 6 |
12 | Dausa | 5 |
13 | Dholpur | 4 |
14 | Dungarpur | 4 |
15 | Hanumangarh | 5 |
16 | Jaipur | 19 (Highest) |
17 | Jaisalmer | 2 (Lowest ) |
18 | Jalor | 5 |
19 | Jhalawar | 4 |
20 | Jhunjhunu | 7 |
21 | Jodhpur | 10 |
22 | Karauli | 4 |
23 | Kota | 6 |
24 | Nagaur | 10 |
25 | Pali | 6 |
26 | Pratapgarh | 2 (Lowest ) |
27 | Rajsamand | 4 |
28 | Sawai Madhopur | 4 |
29 | Sikar | 8 |
30 | Sirohi | 3 |
31 | Sri Ganganagar | 6 |
32 | Tonk | 4 |
33 | Udaipur | 8 |
Total | Constituencies in Rajasthan | 200 |
Rajasthan Vidhan Parishad or Rajasthan Legislative Council:
Rajasthan does not have any Upper House of Vidhan Parishad. However, attempts have been made to create legislative council in the state.
- In 2008, the proposal to constitute Rajasthan Legislative Council was sent for the first time.
- Later on 18th April 2012, the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly passed the resolution for second time and the proposal was again sent to Parliament. However, the Union Ministry of Law and Justice had sought the opinion of the state government regarding the suggestions of the Standing Committee of Parliament on the proposal to constitute the Legislative Council.
- In July 2021, the Cabinet of Rajasthan headed by CM Gehlot has approved a proposal to constitute Rajasthan legislative council. A proposal to constitute the Vidhan Parishad will be sent to Parliament after getting a nod of the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha.
15th Assembly of Rajasthan: Important Persons
Pro-Term Speaker | Gulab Chand Kataria |
Speaker | C. P. Joshi |
Deputy Speaker | |
Leader of the House (Chief Minister) | Ashok Gehlot, |
Leader of the Opposition | Gulab Chand Kataria |
Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha: Business Procedure Rules
The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has framed ‘Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly for regulating the business of the House and its Committees. They were first framed in 1956 and after many amendments, the latest Fourteenth Edition has been printed in 2014.
As per the Rules, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly shall have at least three sessions in a calendar year. The business of the House is decided by the House on the recommendation of the Business Advisory Committee.
Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha Important Committees & their Chairman (2021-22)
S.No. | Financial Committee’s Name | Chairman |
1. | Committee on Public Accounts | Gulab Chand Kataria |
2. | Committee on Public Undertaking | Hemaram Choudhary |
3. | Committee on Estimates “A” | Rajendra Pareekh |
4. | Committee on Estimates “B” | Dayaram Parmar |
Besides the above-mentioned four financial committees, the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has following other 17 standing committees.
S.No. | Committee’s Name | Chairman |
1. | Business Advisory Committee | C. P Joshi (Speaker) |
2. | General Purpose Committee | C. P Joshi (Speaker) |
3. | Rules Committee/Sub-Rules Committee | C. P Joshi (Speaker) |
4. | Committee on Local Bodies and PRI’s | Dr. Rajkumar Sharma |
5. | Committee on Environment | Manju Devi |
6. | Committee on Ethics | Deependra Singh |
7. | Committee on Government Assurances | Bhanwar Lal Sharma |
8. | Committee on Petitions | Arjun Lal Jingar |
9. | Committee on Privileges | Shakuntala Rawat |
10. | Committee on Subordinate Legislation | Narendra Budania |
11. | Committee on Library | Ram Narayan Meena |
12. | Committee on Questions & References | Brijendra Singh Olan |
13. | Committee on Welfare of Schedule Tribes | Mahendra Singh Malviya |
14. | Committee on Welfare of Schedule Caste | Ashok Bairwa |
15. | Committee on Welfare of Minorities | Ameen Khan |
16. | Committee on Welfare of OBC | Jitendra Singh |
17. | Committee on Welfare of Women & Children | Anita Bhadel |