In India, there is an area based representation system and so, by the cause of elections the country is divided into different areas called as electoral constituencies. For Lok Sabha elections, the country is split into 543 constituencies. The voters of each constituency choose their representative, called as Member of Parliament or MP. In the same way, each state and union territory is divided into a certain number of assembly constituencies. And the elected members of these assembly constituencies is known as Member of Legislative Assembly or MLA.
Due to insufficient knowledge, most of the people do not know the rights, powers, duties and responsibilities, of the MLA and MP. Take a read of the article to get a better understanding of the difference between these two.
Content: MLA Vs MP
Comparison Chart
| Basis for Comparison | MLA | MP |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | MLA is the elected member of the legislative assembly, who represent people of the specified constituency. | MP is the nominated member of either of the two houses of Parliament, who work on behalf of the constituency, state or union territory he/she is representing. |
| Election | MLA's are elected by the voters of a constituency. | MP of Lok Sabha are directly chosen by the public, but MP of Rajya Sabha are indirectly chosen by the members of Legislative Assembly. |
| Constituency | Assembly Constituency. | Parliamentary Constituency. |
| Works at | State level | Central level |
Definition of MLA
Member of Legislative Assembly, shortly known as MLA is an elected representative of the electoral district to the Legislature of the State. These are the direct representative of the general public of the particular constituency and are elected on the basis of adult suffrage. He/She represents the people of the said constituency in the assembly and debates on the matters concerning the constituency.
In states, there are two houses Legislative Council (the upper house) and the Legislative Assembly (the lower house). The maximum strength of members in a legislative assembly should not exceed 500 members and also not less than 60 members. However, for the states which are small in size and also less population, can have less number of members in the assembly.
Moreover, Governor can nominate one member from the Anglo-Indian community, if he is of the view that their representation is not made adequately.
To qualify as a Member of Legislative Assembly, a person needs to be:
- A citizen of India
- Have attained the age of 25 years.
- A voter from any constituency of the state.
Definition of MP
To understand the term Member of Parliament or MP, first know the meaning of Parliament, which is the primary legislative body. The President and the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, together constitute the Parliament of India. So, as the name signifies, the elected or nominated members of either of the two chambers is known as Member of Parliament.
MP works on behalf of the constituency, state or union territory he/she representing. Being a custodian of rights of people and their benefits, they can question and debate over the legislation proposed by the Government.
MP of Lok Sabha represents people to the Lok Sabha and who are chosen by direct elections, based on the universal adult franchise, whereas the MP of Rajya Sabha represents states, and chosen indirectly by the Members of Legislative Assembly.
The total number of MP in Lok Sabha should not be more than 552, out of which 530 members represents constituencies and states, 20 indicates union territories and two members are elected by the President, who will represent Anglo-Indian community.
To qualify as a Member of Parliament, a person should be:
- A citizen of India
- Have attained the age of 25 years.
- A voter from any parliamentary constituency.
- Independent candidate needs 10 proposer.
- Candidate of a well-known party, requires one proposer, for the purpose of nomination.
- Make a security deposit of Rs. 10000
Key Differences Between MLA and MP
The points given below are noteworthy so far as the difference between MLA and MP is concerned:
- A representative of the assembly constituency to the Legislature of the State is known as Member of Legislative Assembly or MLA. Member of Parliament or MP is the elected member of any of the two chambers of Parliament.
- The selection of members of the legislative assembly is done by the voters of a constituency. On the other hand, we all know that the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the President, are together known as Parliament, so the MP of the lower house are directly chosen by the public, whereas the members of Rajya Sabha are indirectly chosen by the members of Legislative Assembly
- The constituency from which the MP is selected is a Parliamentary constituency and so it is larger than that of an assembly constituency, from which MLA is chosen as a representative.
- MLA works at the state level, whereas MP works at the central level.
Conclusion
The main feature of democratic elections is that every vote has the same value. Hence the country is divided into constituencies so that each constituency should have an approximately equal population residing in it. Each parliamentary constituency indicates several assembly constituencies. For every member of parliament (MP), there are 7 and 9 MLA’s in a state.
MP’s and MLA’s both are representative of the general public, who work at the state and central level respectively. They work continuously for the development of people. Elections give a chance to people to select their representative, and also their government.
P says
Wonderful work..Keep it up !
Chinmay Dhananjaya says
Clearly explained, Thank you!