The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

of the Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembly is the Speaker. The term of the Assembly is five years, unless dissolved earlier. Since Tamil Nadu has a unicameral legislature, the terms Tamil Nadu Legislature and Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly are almost synonymous and are often confused. However, they are not one and the same. The Tamil Nadu Legislature is the legislative body, while the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is a part of it. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, along with the Governor of Tamil Nadu, constitutes the Tamil Nadu Legislature. The present state of Tamil Nadu is a residuary part of the erstwhile

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

and was formerly known as

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

. The first legislature of any sort for the Presidency was the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

, which was set up as a non-representative advisory body in 1861. In 1919, direct elections were introduced with the introduction of

diarchy Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally spelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate. is a form of government charac ...

under the

Government of India Act 1919 The Government of India Act 1919 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 101) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. The act embodied the reforms recommended in the report ...

. Between 1920 and 1937, the Legislative Council was a unicameral legislature for the Madras Presidency. The

Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act 1935 (25 & 26 Geo. 5. c. 42) was an Act of Parliament (UK), act passed by the British Parliament that originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest act that the British Parliament ever enact ...

abolished diarchy and created a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

legislature in the Madras Presidency. The Legislative Assembly became the

Lower House A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the Presidency. After the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

was established in 1950, the Madras Presidency became the Madras State, and the bicameral setup continued. The Madras State's assembly strength was 375, and the first assembly was constituted in 1952. The current state was formed in 1956 after the reorganisation of states, and the strength of the assembly was reduced to 206. Its strength was increased to the present 234 in 1965. Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969, and subsequently, the assembly came to be called the ''Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly''. The Legislative Council was abolished in 1986, making the legislature a unicameral body and the assembly its sole chamber. The present Sixteenth Legislative Assembly was constituted on 3 May 2021. It was constituted after the 2021 assembly election, which resulted in the

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; ; DMK) is an Indian political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it is currently the ruling party, and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry, where it is currently the main ...

(DMK)-led front winning and forming the government. The next election will take place in 2026.

History

Origin

The first legislature of any kind to be established in Madras was the Madras Legislative Council in 1861. First established as a non-representative advisory body, it saw the introduction of elected members in 1892. The

Indian Councils Act 1909 The Indian Councils Act 1909 ( 9 Edw. 7. c. 4), commonly known as the Morley–Minto or Minto–Morley Reforms, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that brought about a limited increase in the involvement of Indians in the gover ...

(popularly called the "Minto-Morley Reforms") officially introduced indirect election of members to the Council. In 1919, direct elections were introduced with the introduction of

under the

. Between 1920 and 1937, the Legislative Council was a unicameral legislature for the

. The

abolished diarchy and created a

legislature in Madras province. The Legislature consisted of the Governor and two legislative bodies: a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council. The Assembly was the lower house and consisted of 215 members, who were further classified into general members and reserved members representing special communities and interests: The presiding officer of the Assembly was called the

Speaker of the Assembly Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

Madras Presidency

The first legislative assembly election in the presidency was held in February 1937. The

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

obtained a majority by winning 159 of 215 seats.

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian independence ...

became the first elected chief minister of the Presidency under the provincial autonomy system guaranteed by the Government of India Act 1935. The first assembly was constituted in July 1937. Bulusu Sambamurti and A. Rukmani Lakshmipathi were elected as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. The first assembly lasted its term until February 1943, but the Congress cabinet resigned in October 1939, protesting India's participation in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. From 1939 to 1946, Madras was under the direct rule of the governor and no elections were held in 1943 when the assembly's term expired. Next elections were held only in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

, when a political compromise was reached between the Congress and viceroy Lord Wavell. The second assembly of the presidency was constituted in April 1946 and J. Shivashanmugam Pillai was elected as the speaker. The Congress won an absolute majority in the elections and again formed the Government. On 15 August 1947, India became independent and the new

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and ...

came into effect on 26 January 1950. Madras Presidency became

and the existing assembly and government were retained till new elections could be held in 1951.

Republic of India

In the

, the Madras State Legislative Assembly continued to be the lower house in a bicameral legislature. The first election to the assembly on the basis of

universal adult suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

was held in January 1952. According to the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Madras) Order, 1951, made by the President under sections 6 and 9 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the assembly's strength was 375 members elected from 309 constituencies. Out of the 309 constituencies in the undivided

, 66 were two member constituencies, 62 of which had one seat reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates and 4 for Scheduled Tribe candidates. The two member constituencies were established in accordance to Article 332 of the

. The voting method and the plurality electoral formula were defined in The Representation of People Act, 1950. These constituencies were larger in size and had greater number of voters (more than 1,00,000) when compared to general constituencies. Multiple members were elected only in the 1952 and 1957 elections as double member representation was abolished in 1961 by the enactment of Two-Member Constituencies Abolition Act (1961). Of the 375 seats, 143 were from what later became

Andhra Andhra Pradesh (ISO: , , AP) is a state on the east coast of southern India. It is the seventh-largest state and the tenth-most populous in the country. Telugu is the most widely spoken language in the state, as well as its official lang ...

state, 29 were from Malabar, 11 from South Canara (part of present-day

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

) and the remaining 190 belonged to

. On 1 October 1953, a separate Andhra State consisting of the Telugu-speaking areas of the composite Madras State was formed and the Kannada-speaking area of

Bellary Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of South Ind ...

District was merged with the then Mysore State. This reduced the strength of the Legislative Assembly to 231. On 1 November 1956, the

States Reorganisation Act The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's States and union territories of India, states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries ...

took effect and consequently the constituencies in the erstwhile

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as British Malabar or simply Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in ...

were merged with the

Kerala State Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. This further reduced the strength to 190. The Tamil-speaking area of Kerala (present day

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

district) and

Sengottai Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,823, ...

taluk were added to Madras State. According to the new Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order 1956, made by the Delimitation Commission of India under the provisions of the State Reorganisation Act of 1956, the strength of the assembly was increased to 205. The 1957 elections were conducted for these 205 seats. In 1959, as result of The Andhra Pradesh and Madras (Alteration of Boundaries) Act 1959, one member from the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly was allotted to Madras increasing its Legislative Assembly strength to 206. The 1962 elections were conducted for these 206 seats. In 1965, the elected strength of the assembly was increased to 234 by the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1965. In addition to the 234, the assembly also has one nominated member representing the

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...

community. From 1965, the number of members has remained constant. In 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu and subsequently the assembly came to be known as the "Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly". The Legislative Council was abolished with effect from 1 November 1986 through an Act of Parliament titled as The Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1986. With the abolition of the council, the legislature became a unicameral body and remained so for the next 24 years. Of the fourteen assemblies that have been constituted so far, four (the sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth) have been dismissed by the Central Government using Article 356 of the Indian Constitution. This State Assembly is unique because, since 1996, the actual leader of the official opposition party, though he or she is an official member of the house, has chosen mostly to sign the attendance register outside but not attend the house proceedings. M. Karunanidhi, J. Jayalalithaa, and

Vijayakant Vijayaraj Alagarswami (25 August 1952 – 28 December 2023), known by his stage name Vijayakanth, was an Indian actor, filmmaker, philanthropist and politician. He worked in Tamil cinema in a career spanning four decades. He ventured into politi ...

conducted themselves in this manner, unless an extremely important situation happened. Once

M. K. Stalin Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin (born 1 March 1953) is an Indian politician and former actor serving as the 8th and current List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, chief minister of Tamil Nadu since 2021. He is the third son of the former Chief Min ...

became the leader of the opposition in 2016, the leader of the opposition always came and participated fully in the House. Following the 2021 elections, the leader of the opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami, also attended the house.

Location

The Legislative Assembly is seated at the

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. Fort St. George has historically been the seat of the

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

since colonial times. During 1921–37, the precursor to the assembly – Madras Legislative Council, met at the council chambers within the fort. Between 14 July 1937 – 21 December 1938, the assembly met at the Senate House of the

University of Madras The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

and between 27 January 1938 – 26 October 1939 in the Banqueting Hall (later renamed as Rajaji Hall) in the Government Estate complex at

Mount Road Anna Salai (), named for C. N. Annadurai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towa ...

. During 1946–52, it moved back to the Fort St. George. In 1952, the strength of the assembly rose to 375, after the constitution of the first assembly, and it was briefly moved into temporary premises at the government estate complex. This move was made in March 1952, as the existing assembly building only had a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 260. Then on 3 May 1952, it moved into the newly constructed assembly building in the same complex. The assembly functioned from the new building (later renamed as "Kalaivanar Arangam") during 1952–56. However, with the reorganisation of states and formation of Andhra, the strength came down to 190 and the assembly moved back to Fort St. George in 1956. From December 1956 till January 2010, the Fort remained the home to the assembly. In 2004, during the 12th assembly, the AIADMK Government under J. Jayalalithaa made unsuccessful attempts to shift the assembly, first to the location of Queen Mary's College and later to the

Anna University Anna University is a public state university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The main campus is in Guindy. It was originally established on 4 September 1978 and is named after C. N. Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Histor ...

campus,

Guindy Guindy is a neighborhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Kathipara junction where Anna Salai, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Inner Ring Road, 100 Feet Road or Jawaharlal Nehru Road, and GST Road meet here. It is one of the important nodal points of ...

. Both attempts were withdrawn after public opposition. During the 13th Assembly, the DMK government led by M. Karunanidhi proposed a new plan to shift the assembly and the government secretariat to a new building in the Omandurar Government Estate. In 2007, the German architectural firm GMP International won the design competition to design and construct the new assembly complex. Construction began in 2008 and was completed in 2010. The new assembly building was opened and the assembly started functioning in it from March 2010. After AIADMK's victory in the 2011 elections, the assembly shifted back to Fort St. George. List of historical locations where the Tamil Nadu Legislature has been housed:

List of the assemblies

;Note: In the 1952 election, no party achieved a majority in the assembly, so

became the first and only non-elected

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

. In the 1967 election,

C. N. Annadurai Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 19093 February 1969), also known as Perarignar, was an Indian politician who was the founder and first general-secretary of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He served as the fourth and last chi ...

was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

and not to the assembly. He resigned as a member of parliament and was elected to the state legislative council to become chief minister.

Members of the Legislative Assembly

Party position

Standing committees of the house (2024–2025)

The following standing committee of the house was constituted on 29 June 2024.

Portraits in the assembly chamber

The bust of

P. Rajagopalachari Diwan Bahadur Sir Perungavur Rajagopalachari, Order of the Star of India, KCSI, Order of the Indian Empire, CIE (18 March 1862 – 1 December 1927), also spelt in contemporary records as Sir P. Rajagopala Achariyar, was an Indian administrator ...

and

L. D. Swamikannu Pillai Diwan Bahadur Lewis Dominic Swamikannu Pillai CIE, ISO (b. 11 February 1865 - d. 10 September 1925) was an Indian politician, historian, linguist, astronomer and administrator who served as the second President of the Madras Legislative Counc ...

, former presidents of the

, adorns the assembly lobby.

Notes

References

External links

Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election 2019 Result WebsiteSlideshow of historical images of the Tamil Nadu Legislature
{{Authority control Government of Tamil Nadu State lower houses in India