State
Union Territories

Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly

Himachal Pradesh in 1951 came under a Lt. Governor and it is at that point of time the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly was formed, comprising of 36 members. The first Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election was held in the year 1952. With the merger of Bilaspur – Himachal Pradesh in 1954, the Assembly strength was revised to 41. Later around 1956, under the guidance of Justice Sh. Fazal Ali, Chairman of the Commission, Himachal Pradesh was declared a Union Territory. However it was provided a Territorial Council and had limited powers.

In 1963, a bill was passed in the Union Parliament, so that Himachal Pradesh had its own Legislative Assembly and Council of Ministers. This was finally enforced on 1st July, 1963 after the President gave his assent. The Territorial Council was converted to a Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh. The number of members in the assembly was fixed to 43 plus 2 nominated members. The first sitting of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly took place on 1st October 1963. 2 more areas were added to Himachal Pradesh in 1966 and the strength of the house was raised to 56 plus 2 nominated members.

It was further revised to 63 (60 elected plus 3 nominated). On January 25, 1971 Himachal Pradesh was made the 18th State of the Union of India. The Governor of Himachal Pradesh is Justice (Retd.)Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje. Shri Tulsi Ram is the Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Shri Khimi Ram is the Deputy Speaker. The Leader of the House is Shri Prem Kumar Dhumal. The Leader of Opposition is Smt. Vidya Stokes. In the last Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections, which was held in 2007, BJP emerged the winner with 41 seats. INC+ had to its credit 23 seats and BSP could manage only 1 seat. In the 2003 assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, the scenario was just the reverse. Congress won the 2003 assembly elections with 43 seats leaving behind BJP with 16 seats.

For the assembly elections, all the three major political parties viz. BJP, CPM and Congress added the disability agenda in their election manifestos. The BJP in its manifesto had promised job reservations for disabled persons. The Congress made promises on implementing all the acts and provisions where the disabled people could also enjoy equal powers. The CPM promised a dignified living for the disabled section of the society.