# Uttar Pradesh Legislature

The Uttar Pradesh Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It composed of the governor and both the houses of state legislature. The governor in his/her role as head of the legislature and has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of legislature or to dissolve the Vidhan Sabha. The governor can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the chief minister and his Council of Ministers. The legislature meets 3 times a year at Vidhan Bhavan in Lucknow.

## Composition

The Uttar Pradesh Legislature consists of two houses, namely the Vidhan Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad, with the governor acting as their head.

### Governor

The Governor of the Uttar Pradesh acts as the head of the legislature and enjoys all executive, legislative and discretionary powers of the state. The governors of the states of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the president of India at the central level. The Governor is appointed by the President of India for the term of 5 years.

### Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)

The Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council) or the Upper House is a permanent body not subject to dissolution. One-third of the members retire every second year and are replaced by newly elected members.

### Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)

The Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) or the lower house has 403 members. Members are directly elected by citizens of the state on the basis of universal adult franchise representing assembly constituencies across the state.Every citizen of India who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, or race and is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to vote for members of the Legislative Assembly.
It has a term of five years. To be eligible for membership in the Legislative Assembly, a person must be a citizen of India and must be 25 years of age or older, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt, and should not be criminally convicted.

## Sessions of the Legislature

The period during which the both houses meet to conduct their business is called a session. The constitution empowers the governor to summon each house at such intervals that there should not be more than a six-month gap between the two sessions. Hence the Legislature must meet at least twice a year. In India, the legislature of each state conducts three sessions each year:
* Budget session: January/February to May
* Monsoon session: July to August/September
* Winter session: November to December

## Meeting Place

The Vidhan Bhavan located at VS Marg in Lucknow, the capital of the state serves as the seat and the meeting place for both the houses of the legislature. All three sessions of the legislature held here only. The building was designed by Samuel Swinton Jacob and Heera Singh; Singh also drew up the blueprint of the building. Butler subsequently monitored the construction of the building. The building was completed in little over five years at a cost of ₹21 lakh (equivalent to ₹36 crore or US$4.6 million in 2020) (1922 cost not adjusted for inflation) and was inaugurated on 21 February 1928.
* Interior of the Legislative Building.
* Seats present in the lower house of the legislature.
* Outside View of the Legislative Building.