The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of Karnataka state in southern India. Karnataka is one of the six states in India, where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses are the Vidhana Sabha (lower house) and the Vidhana Parishad (upper house).

The members of the Vidhana Sabha are directly elected by people through adult franchise. The members of the Vidhana Parishad are elected indirectly by members of local bodies, teachers and graduates.

There are 75 members of the Vidhana Parishad. Members of the Vidhana Parishad or Legislative Council normally have a term of six years, and are generally known as MLCs.

There are 224 members of the Vidhana Sabha or the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka state. One member is a representative of the Anglo-Indiancommunity nominated by the Governor of Karnataka. The state of Karnataka is divided into 225 constituencies used to elect the Legislative assembly. Each constituency elects one member of the assembly. Members are popularly known as M.LA’s. The assembly is elected using the simple plurality or “first past the post” electoral system. The elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India. The normal term of the members lasts for five years. In case of death, resignation or disqualification of a member, a by-election election is conducted for constituency represented by the member. The party which wins the most seats becomes the ruling party.

After the 2008 elections, B. S. Yeddyurappa of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became chief minister with 110/224 MLAs from his party and supported by six independent MLAs. He has proved his “majority support” (i.e., at least 113 MLAs) on the floor of the house.

Who is an MLA ?

A Member of Legislative Assembly, or MLA, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to the Legislature of a State in the Indian system of government. Each state has between four and nine MLAs for every Member of Parliament (MP) that it has in the Lok Sabha.

Who is an MP ?

In India, the term Member of Parliament refers to the Sansad or the Indian Parliament chambers of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. MPs to the Lok Sabha are elected popularly by constituencies in the Indian states and union territories, while MPs to the Rajya Sabha are elected by State legislatures. Central government is formed by the party having the most number of MPs in the Lok Sabha. Each state is allocated a fixed number of elected MPs. The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, represents the maximum number of MPs in the Lok Sabha.

Who is an MLC ?

The Vidhan Parishad also known as Legislative Council forms a part of the state legislatures of India. In 6 of India’s 28 states (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra ,Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh), the Legislative Council serves as the upper house of a bicameral legislature. It is a house indirectly elected by the people. It is also a permanent house because it cannot be dissolved. Also, only one-third of its members run for election every 2 years. Every MLC (Member of Legislative Council) serves for a term of 6 years
The size of the Vidhan Parishad cannot be more than one-third the membership of the Vidhan Sabha, the Legislative Assembly (lower house) of that state. But its size cannot be less than 40 except in Jammu and Kashmir where there are 32 by an Act of Parliament. One-sixth of its membership is nominated by the Governor from among persons who have excelled in science, arts, social service and other activities. Another one-third is elected by the local government bodies and one-twelfth by teachers of secondary schools, colleges and universities.

Just Know That
• MLA’s and MLC’s are members of state legislatures in India
• MLA’s are elected directly by the voters whereas MLC’s are elected by a restricted electorate comprising teachers and lawyers
• MLA’s propose money bills while MLC’s do not have this power
• MLA’s can participate in a vote of confidence whereas MLC’s do not have this power
• Ministers in a government at the state level are mostly MLA’s while very few MLC’s get a chance to serve as ministers.