The state government: Governor, Chief Minister and legislature

The government of a state follows the same parliamentary pattern as the Union. The Governor corresponds to the President, the Chief Minister to the Prime Minister, and the state legislature to Parliament.

The Governor

Each state has a Governor (Article 153), who is the constitutional head of the state. The same person can be Governor of two or more states.

• The Governor is appointed by the President (Article 155) and holds office during the President's pleasure, normally for a term of five years.
• A Governor must be a citizen of India and at least 35 years old.
• All executive action of the state is taken in the Governor's name. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister, the other ministers, the Advocate General and the members of the State Public Service Commission.
• The Governor summons and prorogues the legislature, addresses it, and gives assent to bills. Under Article 200, he or she may give assent, withhold it, return a bill (other than a money bill) for reconsideration, or reserve it for the consideration of the President.
• When the legislature is not in session, the Governor can issue ordinances (Article 213).
• Under Article 161, the Governor can grant pardons and reduce sentences for offences against state laws.

Like the President, the Governor normally acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers (Article 163). But the Governor also has some discretion, for example in reporting to the President that the government of the state cannot be carried on according to the Constitution, or in choosing a Chief Minister when no party has a clear majority. The Governor is thus both the head of the state and a link between the Centre and the state.

The Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers

Under Article 164, the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, and the other ministers are appointed by the Governor on the Chief Minister's advice. By convention, the leader of the majority party or coalition in the legislative assembly becomes Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the legislative assembly. Its size is limited to 15 per cent of the strength of the assembly, with a minimum of twelve ministers. The Chief Minister is the real head of the state government.

The Advocate General (Article 165) is the highest law officer of the state, as the Attorney General is of the Union.

The state legislature

Every state has a legislative assembly, the Vidhan Sabha. Its members (MLAs) are elected directly by the people for five years. A member must be at least 25 years old. The assembly is presided over by a Speaker.

A few states also have an upper house, the legislative council or Vidhan Parishad. Such states have a bicameral legislature. At present six states have a council: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Under Article 169, Parliament can create or abolish a council by an ordinary law if the assembly of that state passes a resolution asking for it by a special majority.

Members of a legislative council (MLCs) are partly elected by local bodies, graduates, teachers and the assembly, and partly nominated by the Governor. A member must be at least 30 years old. Like the Rajya Sabha, the council is a permanent house; one-third of its members retire every two years. Its powers are limited: it can delay an ordinary bill for a few months but cannot stop it, and it has almost no say over money bills.

What the state legislature does

It makes laws on subjects in the State List, such as police, public health and agriculture, and in the Concurrent List. It passes the state budget, controls the state's Council of Ministers through questions, debates and no-confidence motions, and its elected members take part in the election of the President and of the state's members of the Rajya Sabha.