The Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is the unicameral legislature of the union territory of Delhi in India. Delhi Legislative Assembly is the legislative arm of the Government of Delhi. At present, it consists of 70 members, directly elected from 70 constituencies. The tenure of the Legislative Assembly is five years unless dissolved sooner.
The seat of assembly is the Old Secretariat building, which is also the seat of the Government of Delhi.
History The Delhi Legislative Assembly was first constituted on 7 March 1952 under the Government of Part C States Act, 1951; it was inaugurated by Home Minister K. N. Katju. The Assembly had 48 members, and a Council of Ministers in an advisory role to the Chief Commissioner of Delhi, though it also had powers to make laws. The first Council of Ministers was led by Brahm Prakash, who became the first Chief Minister of Delhi.
However, the States Reorganisation Commission, set up in 1953, led to the Constitutional amendment through States Reorganisation Act, 1956, which came into effect on 1 November 1956. This meant that Delhi was no longer a Part-C State and was made a Union Territory under the direct administration of the President of India. Also the Delhi Legislative Assembly and the Council of Ministers were abolished simultaneously. Subsequently, the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 was enacted which led to the formation the Municipal Corporation.
In September 1966, with "The Delhi Administration Act, 1966", the assembly was replaced by the Delhi Metropolitan Council with 56 elected and five nominated members with the Lt. Governor of Delhi as its head. The Council however had no legislative powers, only an advisory role in the governance of Delhi. This set up functioned until 1990.
This Council was finally replaced by the Delhi Legislative Assembly through the Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991, followed by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 the Sixty-ninth Amendment to the Constitution of India, which declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as National Capital Territory of Delhi and also supplements the constitutional provisions relating to the Legislative Assembly and the Council of Ministers and related matters. The Legislative Assembly is selected for period of five years, and presently it is the eighth assembly, which was selected through the 2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly Election.
Assembly building The building was originally built in 1912, designed by E. Montague Thomas to hold the Imperial Legislative Council and subsequently the Central Legislative Assembly (after 1919), until the newly constructed Parliament House of India in New Delhi (Sansad Bhawan) was inaugurated on 18 January 1927. The site was built over the land of the former Old Chandrawal village.Sharma, Manoj (21 September 2013). "Delhi Vidhan Sabha was once British seat of power". *Hindustan Times*. Retrieved 8 November 2025 – via https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/delhi-vidhan-sabha-was-once-british-seat-of-power/story-QxslbJGljuzjJ1LHKYbpuJ.html
The building also housed the Secretariat of the Government of India, and was built after the capital of India shifted to Delhi from Calcutta. The temporary secretariat building was constructed in a few months' time in 1912. It functioned as the Secretariat for another decade, before the offices shifted to the present Secretariat Building on Raisina Hill.
List of assemblies + Assembly Election year Speaker Chief Minister Party Opposition Leader Party Interim Assembly 1952 N/A Brahm Prakash Indian National Congress N/A Bharatiya Jana Sangh Gurmukh Nihal Singh State Reorganization 1st Assembly 1993 Charti Lal Goel Madan Lal Khurana Bharatiya Janata Party Deep Chand Bandhu Indian National Congress Sahib Singh Verma Sushma Swaraj 2nd Assembly 1998 Chaudhary Prem Singh Sheila Dikshit Indian National Congress Madan Lal Khurana Bharatiya Janata Party 3rd Assembly 2003 Ajay Maken Vijay Kumar Malhotra Chaudhary Prem Singh 4th Assembly 2008 Yoganand Shastri 5th Assembly 2013 Maninder Singh Dhir Arvind Kejriwal Aam Aadmi Party Harsh Vardhan 6th Assembly 2015 Ram Niwas Goel Vijender Gupta 7th Assembly 2020 Ramvir Singh Bidhuri Atishi Marlena Vijender Gupta 8th Assembly 2025 Vijender Gupta Rekha Gupta Bharatiya Janata Party Atishi Marlena Aam Aadmi Party
Office bearers Office Holder Since Speaker Vijender Gupta 20 February 2025 Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht 20 February 2025 Leader of the House(Chief Minister) Rekha Gupta 20 February 2025 Leader of Opposition Atishi Marlena 20 February 2025 Deputy Leader of Opposition Anil Jha Vats 20 February 2025
Members of Legislative Assembly
See also Delhi Metropolitan Council List of constituencies of the Delhi Legislative Assembly List of chief ministers of Delhi List of deputy chief ministers of Delhi List of speakers of the Delhi Legislative Assembly
References
External links Official Site of Legislature in Delhi Legislative Bodies of India- Delhi "The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991" at the National Informatics Centre website