Arunachal Pradesh is a state in Northeast India. It shares borders with Assam, Nagaland, Bhutan, and Myanmar. It also shares the disputed border with China, called the McMohan line. 

The Government of Arunachal Pradesh is the state’s ruling body. It comprises the legislative, judiciary,  and the executive bodies. Itanagar is the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, and it houses the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. 

The Chief Minister is the head of the Arunachal Pradesh State Government. The main political parties are the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress (INC), and the People’s Party of Arunachal.

Arunachal Pradesh has a unicameral legislature, meaning that the legislative assembly consists of one house or a group that votes as one. The Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly has 60 members with five years of tenure.

History of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly

  • The plan to establish the Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly was done with the introduction of the NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency) Panchayat Raj Act, 1967.
  •  In 1972, the NEFA Agency Council was replaced by the Pradesh Council. 
  • In 1975, the Pradesh Council was converted to the Provisional Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. All the Pradesh Council’s members converted to members of the Legislative Assembly, and Councillors became ministers.

Structure of the Legislative Assembly

  • Tenure and Qualification: The term of the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly is five years unless it dissolves. It will continue from the date of selection in the first meetings. As mentioned in Article 173 of the Indian Constitution, a person must be 25 years old and a citizen of India to be a member of the legislative assembly.
  • Meetings and Sessions: The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh summons the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The Secretary issues the dates and places for the meetings 30 days before the Sessions. Under Article 174 of the Indian Constitution, the Governor can dissolve the Legislative Assembly.
  • Seats in Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly: The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly consisted of 33 members in 1975. 30 members were elected directly from the single-seat of constituencies and 3 members were selected by the Union Government. The number of members of the legislative assembly increased to 60, of which, 59 seats were reserved for the Scheduled Tribes of the constituencies.
  • Legislative Process of Arunachal Pradesh: All the processes of the Legislative Assembly start from the department of law. The bill is first introduced by the minister with seven days of notice to transfer for leave. The Speaker calls the minister and asks the question. The bill is introduced by the minister after the motion is adopted.

Elections of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly

  • Since 1977, the elections in Arunachal Pradesh have been running to select the members of the Vidhan Sabha and the Lok Sabha. Arunachal Pradesh of India includes 60 constituencies of Vidhan Sabha as well as 2 constituencies of Lok Sabha. The most recent legislative assembly election of Arunachal Pradesh was held in 2019 to select 60 members of the Legislative Assembly, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party won the election and Pema Khandu was appointed as the CM of the state.
  • In 2014, the Indian National Congress won 42 seats out of 60 seats in the Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly election. But later, the Bharatiya Janata Party captured full power. 
  • The senior member of the Legislative Assembly is selected as the Speaker by the Governor in the first meetings of the new Legislative Assembly. The Assembly elects the speaker via ballots if more than one member is nominated.
  • The speaker enjoys exclusive powers. He has the power to convert a Bill into a Money Bill. His permission is essential to arrest or make any legal process in the house as well as calling the ministers for attention in an urgent public matter.

Conclusion

Thus, we have learned that the Governor is the head of the state and the CM is the head of the government in Arunachal Pradesh. The State has a unicameral legislative assembly that currently includes 60 members. The Legislative Assembly has a term of 5 years unless it is dissolved. The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election is done by single voting. The Bharatiya Janata Party, along with allies, came into full power and won the current election of Arunachal Pradesh, which was held in 2019.