Every State Assembly runs on the same basic design as the Lok Sabha. The Speaker’s office is where that design shows up most clearly — and where exams love to plant traps.
1. The office and when it ends
1.1 Who is the Speaker of a Legislative Assembly, and how do they get the job?
Every State Legislative Assembly has a Speaker, its chief presiding officer, who controls debates, decides who gets to speak, and keeps order in the House. Members of the Assembly elect the Speaker from among themselves, after each general election. Being elected by members, rather than appointed from outside, makes the Speaker an insider chosen by peers, not an external nominee.
1.2 When must the Speaker vacate office?
Article 179 sets out exactly when a Speaker must leave the chair. If they stop being a member of the Assembly, they vacate office immediately — that part is straightforward. But dissolving the Assembly does not remove the Speaker at once. Instead, the Speaker stays on until just before the newly elected Assembly’s first sitting, so the House is never left without a presiding officer during an election gap.
True or False: Dissolving the Legislative Assembly removes the Speaker from office immediately.
Correct! Dissolution does not remove the Speaker at once — they hold over until the new Assembly’s first sitting.
Not quite. Dissolution does not remove the Speaker at once — they hold over until the new Assembly’s first sitting.
2. Removal and the powers of the chair
2.1 How does a Speaker resign or get removed?
A Speaker can resign simply by writing to the Deputy Speaker. Removing one is harder: the Assembly needs a resolution, and that resolution can’t be moved without at least 14 days’ advance notice. That waiting period exists on purpose — it gives members time to think the move over, so removal can’t happen on a whim. Passing the resolution itself needs a majority of Assembly members present and voting.
True or False: A notice of a resolution to remove the Speaker is addressed to the Speaker herself.
Correct! The notice goes to the Deputy Speaker — the Speaker never sits in judgment on her own removal.
Actually false. The notice goes to the Deputy Speaker — the Speaker never sits in judgment on her own removal.
2.2 What powers does the Speaker actually have?
Day to day, the Speaker decides when to adjourn the House and oversees its business. In a tie vote, the Speaker gets a casting vote to break the deadlock — a decisive role, but one that only kicks in when the House is evenly divided.
3. Compared to the Lok Sabha, and its limits
3.1 How does this compare to the Lok Sabha Speaker?
The Lok Sabha has its own Speaker too, governed by a parallel article — Article 93 — rather than Articles 178-179. Both offices work the same way: a member-elected presiding officer, chosen by their own House. But they are entirely separate holders. A State Assembly’s Speaker is not part of Parliament, and the Lok Sabha’s Speaker has no role in any State Assembly.
3.2 What can’t the Speaker do?
The Speaker does not vote in the first instance — only that casting vote when the House ties. That neutrality is what lets the Speaker preside fairly, without ever favouring one side in an ordinary division. And the office isn’t immune to accountability either: the Assembly can remove a Speaker through the prescribed resolution. Tenure runs with membership and the Assembly’s own continuity, not a fixed personal term.
Exam Practice: PYQ Pattern
Common traps in this topic:
- Claiming dissolution removes the Speaker immediately. It doesn’t — they hold over until the new Assembly sits.
- Claiming the Speaker’s removal notice goes to the Speaker. It goes to the Deputy Speaker.
- Confusing Article 93 (Lok Sabha Speaker) with Articles 178-179 (State Assembly Speaker).
Current Affairs
Why continuity through dissolution matters
Speaker continuity through dissolution keeps a State Assembly from ever being left without a chair during an election. State assembly proceedings and Speaker rulings keep this office in the news, and exams often tie a current event back to this procedural rule.
Quick recall: To whom is a notice for removing the Lok Sabha Speaker addressed?
The Deputy Speaker — this appeared in CAPF AC 2020. The Speaker never sits in judgment on her own removal.
Quick recall: Does the Election Commission conduct the Speaker’s election?
No — this also appeared in CAPF AC 2020. The Speaker is elected by the House itself, from among its own members.
Quick recall: Which Article governs the Lok Sabha Speaker, as opposed to a State Assembly Speaker?
Article 93, for the Lok Sabha. A State Assembly Speaker is governed by Articles 178-179.
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