Question

Presently, how many Indian States have a bicameral State Legislature?
A. 12
B. 7
C. 18
D. 3

Answer 1

Hint: A bicameral legislature has legislators in two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses. One fourth of India’s states have a bicameral state legislature.

Complete answer:
Bicameralism refers to the practice of having two Parliament houses. At the State level, the equivalent of the Lok Sabha is known as the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly), and that of the Rajya Sabha is known as the Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council).

Having a bicameral structure basically means having a Lower and Upper house, which mimics the structure of Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha (Legislative Assembly/Vidhan Sabha and Legislative Council/Vidhan Parishad).

At present,there exist 7 states in India which have a bicameral structure. The states having a bicameral structure are: Bihar,Maharashtra,Telangana,Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir one third of which are elected every two years, there are also present graduate constituencies (members which are elected exclusively by graduates), teachers constituencies (members which are elected exclusively by teachers), municipal constituencies (members who are elected exclusively by Mayors as well as council members of the city Governments).

The remaining states possess a unicameral structure, that means they have only the Legislative Assembly and not the Legislative Council.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note: As per Article 169, Parliament may by law create or abolish the second chamber in a State in the case ,if the Legislative Assembly of that State passes a resolution to that effect by a special majority. Presently, 7 Indian States possess bicameral legislatures. Some also argue that unlike the Rajya Sabha, the Vidhan Parishad does not serve a must purpose and poses a strain on States’ finances.