Lok Sabha

lower house of the Parliament of India

Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Parliament of India. As of 2024, there have been eighteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India. The Constitution limits the Lok Sabha to a maximum of 552 members. This includes no more than 20 members representing people from the Union Territories. The Lok Sabha speaker is elected from its members.

Lok Sabha
18th Lok Sabha
Type
Type
Leadership
Om Birla, BJP
since 17 June 2019
Vacant
since 23 June 2019
Narendra Modi, BJP
since 26 May 2014
Rahul Gandhi, INC
since 9 June 2024
Utpal Kumar Singh
since 30 November 2020
Structure
Seats543
Political groups
Government (293)

Template:Party legend

Opposition (237)
Template:Party legend

Template:Party legend

Template:Party legend

  •   Vacant (1)
Length of term
5 years
Elections
First-past-the-post voting
First election
25 October 1951 – 21 February 1952
Last election
19 April – 1 June 2024
Next election
By May 2029
Meeting place
Lok Sabha Chamber, Sansad Bhavan,
118, Rafi Marg, New Delhi, Delhi, India – 110001
28°37′3″N 77°12′30″E / 28.61750°N 77.20833°E / 28.61750; 77.20833
Website
sansad.in/ls
Constitution
Constitution of India
Rules
The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha (English)

If this happens, the term may be extended for one year. It can be extended more than one time. The 18th and current Lok Sabha was formed in June 2024.

The Lok Sabha meets at the Lok Sabha Chambers, in Sansad Bhavan, Sansad Marg, in New Delhi.

The Lok Sabha members are elected for a term of five years. The president may dissolve the Lok Sabha. During an emergency the term may be extended for one year.

Political groups

History

change
Session of Lok Sabha commenced on Date
Session No. Date
First 13 May 1952
Second April 1957
Third April 1962
Fourth March 1967
Fifth March 1971
Sixth March 1977
Seventh January 1980
Eighth December 1984
Ninth December 1989
Tenth June 1991
Eleventh May 1996
Twelfth March 1998
Thirteenth October 1999
Fourteenth May 2004
Fifteenth May 2009
Sixteenth May 2014
Seventeenth May 2019
Eighteenth June 2024

During the British colonial period, the office of the Secretary of State for India (along with the Council of India) was the authority through whom the British Parliament exercised its rule in the Indian sub-continent. The Viceroy of India was created, along with an Executive Council, in India, which consisted of high officials of the British government. The Indian Councils Act 1861 provided for a Legislative Council consisting of the members of the Executive Council and non-official members; and the Indian Councils Act 1892 established legislatures in each of the provinces of British India. These Acts may have increased the Indian representation in government, but the councils' power remained limited, and the electorate also remained very small. The participation of Indians in the administration increased after the passage of the Indian Councils Act 1909 and the Government of India Act 1919.

The Indian Independence Act was passed on July 18, 1947, and as a result British India was to be divided into India and Pakistan upon independence on August 15, 1947. They were to be dominions (India, Pakistan) under the Crown until they had enacted their own constitutions.

The Constituent Assembly was divided into two for the separate nations, with each new Assembly having sovereign powers transferred to it for the respective dominion.

India became a republic on January 26, 1950.[1]

Structure

change
State Number of Seats
Andhra Pradesh 42
Arunachal Pradesh 2
Assam 14
Bengal, West 42
Bihar 40
Chhattisgarh 11
Goa 2
Gujarat 26
Haryana 10
Himachal Pradesh 4
Jammu and Kashmir 6
Jharkhand 14
Karnataka 28
Kerala 20
Madhya Pradesh 29
Maharashtra 48
Manipur 2
Meghalaya 2
Mizoram 1
Nagaland 1
Odisha 21
Punjab 13
Rajasthan 25
Sikkim 1
Tamil Nadu 39
Tripura 2
Uttarakhand 5
Uttar Pradesh 80
Territoiries
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1
Chandigarh 1
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 2
Delhi 7
Lakshadweep 1
Puducherry 1
TOTAL 543

References

change
  1. "History of Indian Parliament Elections".