The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Members of Legislative Assembly, directly elected from single-seat constituencies. Its term is five years, unless sooner dissolved. The presiding officer of the Assembly is the Speaker, currently unoccupied.[2]
Assam Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
| 16th Assam Assembly | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | of the Assam Legislature |
Term limits | 5 years |
| History | |
| Founded | 7 April 1937[1] |
| Leadership | |
Vacant | |
Leader of the House (Chief Minister) | |
Leader of the Opposition | |
Deputy Leader of the Opposition | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 126 |
| |
Political groups | Government (102)
Official Opposition (21) Other opposition (3) |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
First election | 1952 Assam Legislative Assembly election |
Last election | 9 April 2026 |
Next election | 2031 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Assam Legislative Assembly complex, Dispur, Guwahati, Assam, India - 781006. | |
| Website | |
| www.assambidhansabha.org | |
Members of the Assembly are directly elected by the people of Assam through elections held every five years, unless the Assembly is dissolved earlier. The current Assembly was elected in April–May 2026, and the next election is scheduled for 2031. The Assembly plays a key role in law-making for the state, handling crucial matters such as state budgets, development policies, and local governance. It has the authority to legislate on issues specified under the State and Concurrent Lists of the Constitution of India.
The Assembly functions through various committees that handle specific issues, including the budget, public accounts, and legislative procedures. The Chief Minister, who is the leader of the majority party in the Assembly, holds executive powers and is the head of the state government. The current Chief Minister is Himanta Biswa Sarma from the BJP, who has been in office since May 2026.
The 2026 election was a landslide victory for the BJP, as the INC barely emerged as the principal opposition force, alongside its allies such as the AIUDF and BPF.
History
editAccording to provisions of the Government of India Act 1935, a bicameral legislature of Assam province came into existence in 1937. After the Government of India Act 1935 was passed, it paved the way for the formation of Assam Legislative Assembly, and became a bicameral legislature. The strength of the House was 108, where all the members were elected. The Legislative Council (Upper House) was not less than 21 and not more than 22 members.
The first sitting of its lower house, the Assam Legislative Assembly, took place on 7 April 1937 in the Assembly Chamber at Shillong. Shillong was the capital of the composite State of Assam. It had a strength of 108 members. However, the strength of the Assembly was reduced to 71 after the partition of India.
After Indian independence, the Assam Legislative Council was abolished in 1952 and the Assam Legislative Assembly became unicameral. The reconstituted assembly had 108 members with 31 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.[3]
In the years that followed, Assam was truncated to several smaller states. And over the years, with the changing geographical boundaries and increase in population, the strength of members has changed from 108 in 1952–57 to 114 in 1967-72 (the third Assembly) and by 1972-78 (the fifth Assembly) it had a strength of 126 members.[4]
List of Assemblies
editThe elections for the Assam Assembly are being held since 1952
Office bearers
edit| S.No | Position | Portrait | Name | Party | Constituency | Office Taken | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Speaker |  |
Ranjeet Kumar Dass | BJP | ||||
| 2 | Deputy Speaker | N/A | ||||||
| 3 | Leader of the House (Chief Minister) |
Himanta Biswa Sarma | ||||||
| 4 | Leader of the Opposition |  |
Wazed Ali Choudhury | INC | ||||
| 5 | Deputy Leader of the Opposition | Joy Prakash Das | ||||||
Members of the Legislative Assembly
editLeaders of Opposition
editOfficial Opposition is a term used to designate the political party which has secured the second largest number of seats in the assembly. In order to get formal recognition, the party must have at least one-sixth of the total number of Members of the House as required under the aforementioned provisions.[7][8] However, On 16 May 2026, the Assam Legislative Assembly amended its rules to lower the eligibility threshold for the Leader of the Opposition from one-sixth to one-tenth of the total membership. As a result, a party now requires at least 13 MLAs instead of 21 to qualify, enabling the Indian National Congress, despite its reduced strength, to appoint a Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
Leaders of Opposition
edit
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Deputy Leader of Opposition
edit| # | Assembly | Name | Portrait | Term starts | Constituency | Party | Chief Minister |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renuka Devi Barkataki |  |
1972-1978 | Peoples Democratic Party of Assam | Sarat Chandra Sinha | ||
| 2 | 14th Assam Assembly | Rakibul Hussain |  |
2016-2021 | Samaguri | Indian National Congress | Sarbananda Sonowal |
| 15th Assam Assembly | 2021-2024 | Himanta Biswa Sarma | |||||
| 3 | Vacant | Vacant | 2024-2026 | N/A | |||
| 16th Assam Assembly | No official opposition | N/A | 2026-2031 | N/A | N/A | Himanta Biswa Sarma |
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ↑ "A Brief Historical Profile of Assam Legislative Assembly". assambidhansabha.org. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ↑ "BJP legislator Biswajit Daimary becomes new Assam assembly speaker". Times of India. 21 May 2021.
- ↑ Rao, V. Venkata (1987). "Government and Politics in North East India". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 48 (4): 458–486. ISSN 0019-5510.
- ↑ "Assam Legislative Assembly - History". assambidhansabha.org. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ↑ "Assam Assembly Election 2026: Full list of winners". The Hindu. 4 May 2026. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Assam Assembly Election Results 2026 Winners: BJP wins 82 seats, Congress 19 – Check Constituency-Wise, Party-Wise Full List". The Indian Express. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Assam Assembly may not have a Leader of Opposition".
- ↑ "Congress loses Leader of Opposition post in Assam Assembly". Indian Express. 6 January 2021.
"The present strength of the Indian National Congress Legislature Party, Assam Legislative Assembly is not equal to the quorum fixed to constitute a sitting of the House, that is one-sixth of the total number of Members of the House as required under the aforementioned provisions and therefore, the Hon'ble Speaker, Assam Legislative Assembly, has been pleased to withdraw the recognition of Shri Debabrata Saikia, MLA, as Leader of the Opposition, Assam Legislative Assembly, w.e.f. 1st January, 2021," a Assam Gazette notification
- ↑ "Debabrata Saikia appointed Leader of Opposition in Assam Assembly". Financialexpress. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "Congress MLA loses status of leader of opposition in Assam assembly". Hindustan Times. 5 January 2021. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "Congress elects Debabrata Saikia as leader of opposition in Assam Assembly". ANI. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2025.