Which Representative Do I Approach?

India has three levels of government: central, state and local. Consequently, we have three layers of elected representatives, making the system complex for citizens to navigate. Even though we may want to engage with our representatives, we are often unsure who to engage with, given the multilayered administrative structure.

In this blog, we will simplify these structures by outlining the roles of the different elected representatives.

Who are the different representatives at each level of government?

In the General Elections, the next of which are just around the corner, we elect our Member of Parliament (MP) to represent our parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha. India has 543 parliamentary constituencies in total.

Each parliamentary constituency consists of smaller units of governance, called assembly constituencies. India has 4120 assembly constituencies. So each parliamentary constituency is made up of around seven to eight smaller assemblies, on an average. During our respective State Elections, we elect our Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) to represent us in the State Legislative Assembly. Union Territories do not have a state assembly, with the exception of Puducherry.

You can find out who your MP or MLA is on our website, by searching for your Parliamentary or Assembly Constituency, respectively.

The third layer of government is at the local level. In urban areas we refer to this institution as the Municipal Corporations, and in rural areas as the Panchayat.  In local government elections, we elect Corporators or a Sarpanch to represent us in the Municipal Corporation or the Panchayat, respectively. A municipality is further divided into territorial constituencies called wards.

What is the role of each representatives?

Now that you are fairly familiar with the different layers of government, let us look at how the roles and responsibilities are divided among them.

MPs and MLAs have four main responsibilities: legislative, oversight, representative, and ‘power of the purse.’ The first is to pass laws, the second is to ensure that the government is performing its duties, the third is to represent the views of their constituents, and the last is to review and approve the budget, and other government expenditures. MPs perform these responsibilities at the central level, while MLAs at the state level.

The Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution regulates the issues which the centre and state can legislate upon. The schedule consists of three lists Central, State and Concurrent, the third of which contains issues that are jointly controlled by both levels.

Some issues that fall under the Central List include: Defence, Atomic Energy, Foreign Affairs, Railways, Banking, and the Census.

Matters that come under State jurisdiction include: Police, Public Health and Sanitation, Water, and Agriculture.

The Concurrent List includes items like: Criminal Law and Procedure, Family Law, Education, and Electricity.

For the complete lists, look here.

These lists give us a good idea of issues for which our MPs and MLAs are responsible. They also show us that our system is more centralised in nature, since the more heavyweight issues remain under the mandate of the central government.

Most issues that citizens face on a daily basis fall under the jurisdiction of their municipal corporation. The Twelfth Schedule of our Constitution provides a comprehensive list of these issues. These include Urban Planning, Construction of Buildings, Roads and Bridges, Public Health, Water Supply, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, Fire Services, and Public Amenities including Street Lighting, Parking Lots and Bus Stops.

You may notice an overlap between the ‘State List’ under the Seventh Schedule and the Twelfth Schedule, which lists out your Corporator’s responsibilities. For such cases, it is important to understand the capacity in which an MLA and a Corporator operate.

MLAs, like MPs, are more concerned with policy formulation and maintaining oversight of the government. Their work is less hands-on as compared to that of a Corporator’s.

For instance, if your issue is related to sanitation, which is in the State list and the Twelfth Schedule, take a look at the nature of the problem. If it is at a more policy level, such as the government’s annual expenditure on sanitation, your MLA is the right person to approach.

On the other hand, if your concern is related to more operational issues, such as the maintenance of public toilets or the need to repair a specific sewerage connection, then your Corporator is the appropriate representative to contact.  

According to a Ted Talk by MR Madhavan, of PRS Legislative Research, ‘Most of the requests that MPs get from their constituents are about local issues, that do not come under their jurisdiction.’ 

While we often complain about how representatives do not adequately address our concerns, we rarely ask whether we are approaching the right representative for the correct issues.

We hope that this blog gives you a better understanding of which representative to approach in the future!

[Visuals in this blog were used from Ask How India’s analysis called ‘Who Will Solve My Problem?’. Ask How India is a campaign to improve the quality of public debate in India.]

Saanya Gulati is Research and Outreach Manager at I for India.