Why your MLA/MP disappears after winning — and what they actually get

No fluff. No filters. Just the numbers, the incentives, and the inconvenient truths.

1) First, a reality check

Many election winners do seem to ghost the people who sent them to Delhi or the state capital. Here’s the full picture of what they’re paid, what they’re empowered to do, and why incentives often push them away from your street and into the power corridors.

2) What an MP gets (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha) — pay, perks, and constituency money

Cash in hand (2025 update):

• Salary: ₹1.24 lakh/month (raised from ₹1.00 lakh; effective retrospectively from April 1, 2023).
• Daily allowance: ₹2,500/day for attending Parliament/committees.
• Pension: ₹31,000/month for ex‑MPs.

Free travel & stays:

• 34 single air journeys/year — MP may use them for self + family/companions (spouse/companion can use up to 8 alone). Executive/Business class allowed.
• Unlimited 1st AC/Executive Class rail travel for MP + spouse; one companion gets AC‑2 tier.
• Delhi housing from the MPs’ pool, plus up to 50,000 units of electricity and 4,000 KL of water free per year at the official residence.
• Phones & internet: Up to 1,50,000 pooled local calls across 3 landlines + 2 mobiles; broadband covered up to a ceiling.

Office & constituency running costs:

• Constituency allowance: ₹70,000/month.
• Office expense allowance: ₹60,000/month (₹20k stationery + ₹40k for one computer‑literate assistant).

Money for local works (MPLADS): ( LAD (local area development) )

• ₹5 crore/year per MP to recommend local projects (roads, drinking water, school rooms, etc.). Lok Sabha MPs recommend within their constituency; Rajya Sabha MPs recommend anywhere in their electing State. (Funds are released to district authorities; MPs recommend, they don’t execute.)

Important fine print: ( LAD (local area development) )

• MPLADS was suspended in 2020 for COVID savings and later resumed — a reminder that this money isn’t a constitutional right; it’s a scheme that can be paused.

Do MPs get cooks/maids? Not as a personal “perk.” Housekeeping/maintenance for government quarters is via civic/estate services; domestic help is private. Ministers (see below) get official office staff, not taxpayer‑paid domestic servants. Ministerial personal staff are sanctioned posts, not home help.

3) What an MLA gets — it varies wildly by State

Unlike MPs, MLA salaries and LAD (local area development) funds are set by each State. So your MLA in Kerala is on a different grid than one in Tripura or Delhi.

Examples (to show the spread):

• Delhi MLALAD: After a 2024 spike to ₹15 crore, the new government cut it back to ₹5 crore/constituency/year from 2025‑26.
• Kerala MLALAD: ₹5 crore/year.
• Maharashtra MLALAD: ₹5 crore/year after a series of hikes.
• Small‑State reality: Some states allocate well under ₹1 crore (Tripura ~₹35 lakh; Arunachal ~₹55 lakh; West Bengal ~₹60 lakh per MLA), showing how uneven the “MLA fund” can be.

Bottom line: MLAs get salary + allowances (state‑specific) and a local works kitty that could be ₹35 lakh or ₹5 crore+, depending on where you live. (Always check your state’s latest order.)

4) If they become a Minister (Union level) — more power, different entitlements

Authority: Ministers run ministries under the Constitution and Allocation of Business Rules — they take executive decisions, issue rules, steer bills, and spend budgets. That’s real power (unlike MPs/MLAs who legislate/oversee but don’t execute).

Pay & perks (Union Ministers):

• Governed by the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers Act, 1952 — salary, sumptuary allowance (official hospitality), official travel, etc.
• Personal office staff sanctioned by DoPT (around 13 personal staff for a Minister of State; separate norms for Cabinet Ministers).
• Official residence in Delhi (typically high‑category Type VIII bungalows in Lutyens’ zone for Union ministers), plus staff car and facilities per rules; must vacate on demitting office.
• The Union Budget explicitly budgets for Council of Ministers’ salaries and hospitality. (₹1,024.3 crore provisioned in Budget 2025‑26.)

5) What they’re supposed to do vs what they can do

MPs/Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Members:

• Make laws, scrutinise government (questions, debates, committees), and vote on the Union Budget. They do not directly run departments or award tenders.

MLAs:

• Same idea at State level — legislate, oversee the Council of Ministers, and vote State budgets. Administrative execution lies with the State government and bureaucracy.

Ministers (Union/State):

• Execute policy, control files, sanction schemes, appoint/transfer within their jurisdiction (as per law), and command budgets. That’s why you see ministers, not MPs, cutting ribbons on projects.

6) So why does your MP/MLA seem missing?

a) The calendar is rigged against face time.

• The 17th Lok Sabha (2019–2024) sat around 274 days over five years — the fewest sittings for any full‑term House — while MPs also juggle committees (24 DRSCs + financial committees). Average attendance was around 79% when the House sat. That’s a lot of Delhi time, less constituency time.
• State Assemblies are worse: around 20 sitting days in 2024 on average — with erratic, short sessions that make “visit, attend, return” a logistical mess and amplify party‑whip control.

b) Limited tools for local delivery.

• MPLADS/MLALADS are recommendation funds; actual execution is by district authorities/line departments. Delays, cancellations, and audit objections are common (CAG flagged lapses, under‑utilisation, and deviations repeatedly).

c) Incentives > outcomes.

• Re‑election often depends on party tickets, caste/coalition math, media moments, and “visible” patronage — not steady sewer works. Result: attention flows to party high command and PR‑friendly events, not ward‑level maintenance.

d) Criminalisation & money gate.

• Post‑2024, 46% of MPs have declared criminal cases; 93% are crorepatis. The rising cost of elections and legal baggage distort incentives toward fundraising and power‑brokering over mundane constituency service.

e) Who actually runs your town?

• Local bodies handle most drains/roads/streetlights/primary health — but are often cash‑starved, undermanned, and micromanaged by States. MPs/MLAs get blamed for problems outside their formal remit.

7) “With all this money, why is India still ‘developing’ in 2025?”

Short answer: it’s not no development — it’s uneven development.

The data:

• Poverty has fallen, including multidimensional poverty, but tens of millions remain poor. NITI Aayog reports a sharp MDP decline by 2022‑23 (latest release), and the World Bank notes falling extreme poverty long‑term — but not elimination.
• India remains lower‑middle‑income by World Bank classification in 2025. Translation: big strides, but per‑capita income and public‑service delivery still lag rich‑country standards.

Where does the money go — and why progress feels slow:

1. Leakages and low capacity in last‑mile agencies (audits of schemes like MPLADS show chronic issues).
2. Centralised decision‑making with weak, underfunded local governments; money doesn’t meet the municipal trench when it’s needed.
3. Perverse incentives — elections reward spectacle and short‑term giveaways over boring fixes (storm drains, O&M budgets, teacher attendance).
4. Stop‑start sessions and fast‑tracked laws with thin scrutiny reduce the feedback loop that catches bad design early. The 17th Lok Sabha had the fewest sitting days among full‑term Houses.
5. Criminalisation and high entry costs skew candidate pools toward those who can fund campaigns or bargain for protection.

8) Lok Sabha vs Rajya Sabha — any real difference for citizens?

• Pay & perks: Essentially identical (both are MPs).
• Local funds: Lok Sabha MPs recommend within their parliamentary constituency; Rajya Sabha MPs recommend within their State. That’s the operational difference you’ll feel.

9) What would make your representative show up — and deliver?

Here’s the straight‑talk reforms list. No “we will look into it” fluff.

1. Publish a living dashboard (per MP/MLA): attendance, questions, committee work, MPLADS/MLALADS works with geo‑tags, budgets, vendors, and completion photos — auto‑updated monthly.
2. Tie party tickets to performance: Minimum bars on attendance, committee participation, and fund utilisation. If you can’t meet Parliament/Assembly basics, no ticket next time.
3. Strengthen local governments: Give cities/panchayats predictable, formula‑based funds and staff capacity; stop yanking municipal powers by state whim.
4. Clean up campaign finance: Lower costs and raise transparency to reduce the “recover my investment” mindset that sends MLAs/MPs chasing patrons over potholes.
5. Fix the calendar: Guarantee 100+ sitting days for Parliament and realistic minimums for Assemblies; empower committees with time‑bound scrutiny windows. Productivity isn’t photo‑ops; it’s hours on the floor.
6. Independent, routine audits of LAD schemes (MP & MLA) with time‑to‑completion and O&M compliance; freeze new works for agencies that don’t finish old ones.

10) Quick FAQ you’ll ask me anyway

“My MP never visits. Is that normal?”
Parliament sessions + committees + party work eat calendar. But “zero presence” is a choice. You can’t outsource potholes to X (Twitter) forever. Demand monthly open houses + public work reviews in the constituency. The tools (and the funds) exist.

“Isn’t ₹5 crore/year enough?”
For a typical Lok Sabha constituency with 15–20 lakh people, ₹5 crore is ₹25–₹35 per person per year. It buys culverts and classrooms, not a metro line. LAD funds are gap‑fillers, not the development engine.

“Do ministers get everything free?”
They get official residence, staff car, official travel, and sanctioned office staff. But it’s for executing public business, and they vacate the residence on exit. No, the Act doesn’t give anyone unlimited designer curtains.

The uncomfortable truth

India isn’t starved of schemes, salaries, or slogans. It’s starved of time on task, transparent delivery, and aligned incentives. Your MLA/MP is perfectly capable of showing up — when the system rewards it. Until then, you’ll keep seeing ribbon cuttings for the cameras and files for the faithful.

If you want your representative in your lane, measure what matters and make it public. Politicians follow votes. Voters follow data. Let’s make performance the loudest poster on your street.

Comments

comments