How the State Government Works

Each state in India has a Legislative Assembly made up of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), who are elected by the people. The state is divided into constituencies, and the voters of each constituency elect one MLA; Himachal Pradesh, for example, has 68 constituencies.The party, or group of parties, that wins more than half the seats has a majority and becomes the ruling party, while the other members form the opposition. The MLAs of the ruling party elect their leader, who becomes the Chief Minister, and the Chief Minister selects other people as ministers. The Governor is appointed by the Central Government to ensure the state government works according to the Constitution. The Legislative Assembly is where MLAs debate issues, ask questions, approve spending and make new laws for the state. The Chief Minister and ministers form the executive, which implements decisions through departments such as health, education and public works. Through the example of a water shortage in Patalpuram, the chapter shows how people raise problems, how the media reports them and how the government responds.

Detailed Worksheet: How the State Government Works Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. Who is an MLA? How is he or she elected? (2 marks) 2. What is a constituency? (2 marks) 3. What is meant by majority in a Legislative Assembly? (2 marks) 4. Who is the Governor? Who appoints the Governor? (2 marks) 5. Distinguish between the ruling party and the opposition. (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. A state assembly has 68 seats. Party A wins 35, Party B 26, Party C 4 and independents 3. (i) How many seats are needed for a majority? (ii) Which party forms the government? (iii) Who becomes the opposition? (3 marks) 7. A state with 120 seats gave these results: Party X 50, Party Y 45, Party Z 15, others 10. (i) Does any party have a majority? (ii) Suggest how a government can be formed. (iii) What is such a government called? (3 marks) 8. In a constituency with 1,20,000 voters, 90,000 voted. Candidate P got 40,000 votes, Q got 35,000 and R got 15,000. (i) Find the voter turnout percentage. (ii) Who won and by what margin? (iii) What percentage of votes polled did the winner get (to one decimal place)? (3 marks) 9. State three functions of the Legislative Assembly. (3 marks) 10. Arrange in the correct order: the Chief Minister is chosen, elections are held, ministers are appointed, results are declared, the party with majority is identified. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a flowchart showing how the state government is formed, from elections to the appointment of ministers. (4 marks) 12. Draw a diagram showing the difference between the legislature (Legislative Assembly) and the executive (Chief Minister and ministers) with their functions. (3 marks) 13. Draw a seat diagram (as a simple bar or block diagram) of a 60-seat assembly where the ruling party has 34 seats and the opposition 26. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. In Patalpuram, people faced severe water shortage and diarrhoea spread. (i) Whom did the people approach? (ii) What did the MLA from the ruling party do? (iii) How did the opposition MLA raise the issue? (iv) What was the role of the press? (v) What finally did the government do? (5 marks) 15. Why is it important to have an opposition in a democracy? (i) How does it keep a check on the government? (ii) Give two ways it raises issues. (iii) Can the opposition make laws? (iv) What would happen if there were no opposition? (5 marks) 16. A minister announces a new law to make helmets compulsory for two-wheeler riders. (i) Where is such a law debated and passed? (ii) Which department will implement it? (iii) Why should people follow it? (iv) How can citizens express disagreement with a law? (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Use correct terms such as MLA, constituency, majority and executive in your answers.