The erstwhile Patiala and East Punjab States Union was formed on 15 July 1948 by merging eight princely states of East Punjab. The state legislature was bicameral, comprising the Vidhan Sabha (lower house) and Vidhan Parishad (upper house). The strength of the Vidhan Parishad of the newly formed state was enhanced from 40 seats to 46 and then 51 in 1957. Punjab was trifurcated in 1966 to form Hary
ana, Himachal Pradesh and the present-day Punjab. The Vidhan Parishad was reduced to 40 seats and the Vidhan Sabha was expanded to 104 seats. The Vidhan Parishad was abolished on 1 January 1970. Therefore, Punjab has a unicameral legislature now. The Punjab legislative assembly, or the Vidhan Sabha, has 117 members today. These members are elected directly from 117 single-member constituencies of the state. A term of the Legislative Assembly lasts five years unless dissolved earlier. The current governor of Punjab is Kaptan Singh Solanki. Charanjit Singh Atwal is the Speaker of the Assembly while Dinesh Singh is the Deputy Speaker. Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is the leader of the house while Sunil Kumar Jakhar of Congress is the main opposition leader. The Assembly meets at Vidhan Bhavan in Chandigarh.
