RAS question
The Speaker of the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha is elected by:
Correct answer: (A) Members of the Vidhan Sabha.
The Speaker of the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha is elected by the members of the Vidhan Sabha from among themselves under Article 178 of the Constitution of India.
Explanation
Article 178 places the office of Speaker inside the Legislative Assembly itself: every State Legislative Assembly must choose two members of the Assembly to be its Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and when either office falls vacant, the Assembly again chooses another member. Applied to Rajasthan, this means the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha elects its own Speaker from among its MLAs. The office is therefore not filled by an external constitutional authority. The President, Governor and Chief Minister may have important constitutional or political roles elsewhere, but Article 178 makes the Assembly's members the electing body for the Speaker.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) The President of India has no role under Article 178, which assigns the choice of the Speaker to the State Legislative Assembly itself.
- (C) The Governor does not elect the Speaker; Article 178 says the Assembly chooses its own Speaker from among its members.
- (D) The Chief Minister may support or propose a candidate politically, but the constitutional choice is made by the MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha.
Concept
This tests the constitutional design of State Legislatures, especially the internal election of presiding officers. RAS repeatedly asks such provisions because Rajasthan polity questions often turn on the exact office, authority and article involved.