West Bengal Legislative Assembly

West Bengal Legislative Assembly Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā
17th West Bengal Assembly
Type
Type	Unicameral
Term limits	5 years
Leadership
Speaker	Biman Banerjee, AITC since 30 May 2011
Deputy Speaker	Asish Banerjee, AITC since 2 July 2021
Leader of the House (Chief Minister)	Mamata Banerjee, AITC since 20 May 2011
Deputy Leader of the House	Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, AITC since 5 August 2022
Leader of the Opposition	Suvendu Adhikari, BJP since 10 May 2021
Deputy Leader of the Opposition	Mihir Goswami, BJP (since 10 May 2021)
Structure
Seats	294
Political groups	Government (227)   AITC (225)   BGPM (1)   IND (1) Official Opposition (65)   BJP (65) Other Opposition (1)   ISF (1) Vacant (1)   Vacant (1)[1]
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	27 March to 29 April 2021
Next election	2026
Meeting place
Vidhan Sabha, Kolkata, West Bengal
Website
www.wbassembly.gov.in
Footnotes
The Assembly was established in 1862 for the Bengal Presidency. The Presidency became the state of West Bengal in the Republic of India in 1950; the state of West Bengal in its current state was formed on 1 May 1960.

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly (ISO: Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā) is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal,^[2] located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat constituencies through the FPTP voting system.^[3] The Assembly meets at Vidhan Sabha Bhavan in Kolkata, the capital of the state. The presiding officer of the Assembly is the Speaker, currently Biman Banerjee.^[3]

Members of the Assembly are directly elected by the people of West Bengal through elections held every five years, unless the Assembly is dissolved earlier. The current Assembly was elected in April–May 2021, and the next election is scheduled for 2026. The Assembly plays a key role in law-making for the state, handling crucial matters such as state budgets, development policies, and local governance. It has the authority to legislate on issues specified under the State and Concurrent Lists of the Constitution of India.

The Assembly functions through various committees that handle specific issues, including the budget, public accounts, and legislative procedures. The Chief Minister, who is the leader of the majority party in the Assembly, holds executive powers and is the head of the state government. The current Chief Minister is Mamata Banerjee from the AITC, who has been in office since May 2011.

The 2021 election was a significant political event, with the AITC securing a major victory, while the BJP emerged as the main opposition party. The elections were marked by intense campaigning, with a strong focus on issues like governance, development, and law and order in the state.^[3][4][5][2]