India is the country in which public representatives like MLA’s and MP’s play an important role in discussion and decision making relating to the problems of the public to govern the country in an efficient manner. This article throws light on the difference between MLA and MP and their duties, responsibilities, powers, etc. The government of India is divided into two forms like the central government which is headed by the Prime Minister and the State Government which is headed by Chief Ministers of respective states.
MLA (MEMBER OF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY)
MLA’s are the persons who form and run the government in each state. The assembly elections are conducted once every 5 years to make people elect the representatives of the government. The candidates who won in the elections are called elected representatives of the constituency and they become members of the state legislative assembly. The candidates who contest for assembly elections are usually related to any one of the political parties, sometimes there are independent candidates also.
MLA’s attend the assembly in their respective states to discuss the matters relating to the problems the people are facing in their constituencies and play a very important role in decisions taken by the state government in matters of agriculture, public health, local government, etc.
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED TO CONTEST IN ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS
⦿  The candidate who is contesting should be a citizen of India.
⦿  He should be of minimum age 25 years.
⦿  He should be a voter from any constituency of the state. i.e, he should have a voter identity card issued by the Election Commission of India.
To find out who your MLA is:
- You can contact the Office of the Clerk.
- A listing of all MLAs and Ministers is available through the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly (204) 945-3636 or click here: Members.
- Contact with MLAs can be made through the MLA’s Legislative Building Office, through the Party Caucus Office or through the MLA’s Constituency Office.
MP (MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT)
MP is a person who is elected by the people in more number constituencies in the same district of the state. MP is a part of the Central Government of India. The parliament is divided into two houses namely Loksabha and Rajya sabha, the MP is a member of any one of the houses either Loksabha or Rajyasabha.
The MP who is a member of the Loksabha is directly elected by the people of the district in the state, whereas the MP, who is a member of Rajyasabha is elected by the MLA’s of the State Governments in the country. Some MP’s of the ruling party are given Minister powers in various aspects like Finance Ministry, Health Ministry, IT Ministry, etc.
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED TO CONTEST IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
⦿  The candidate who is contesting should be a citizen of India.
⦿  He should have attained 25 years in the case of Rajyasabha and 25 years in the case of Loksabha.
⦿  He must have voter identity issued by the Election Commission of India.
⦿  He has to deposit an amount of 10,000 R.s as a security deposit, which is refunded if the candidate gets 1/6th of the valid votes in the constituency.
Difference between MLA and MP
| MLA | MP |
|---|---|
| The MLA's are elected by the people who are residing and have valid voter identity in the constituency in which the candidate is contesting. | MP's, who are members of Lok sabha are elected by voters, whereas members of Rajya sabha are elected by MLA's of the state governments. |
| FUNCTIONS | |
| The MLA's are the members of the legislative assembly of the respective states and are responsible for discussing and voting on the matters relating to state only. | The MP's are the members of parliament and responsible for discussing and voting on the matters relating to the whole country. |
| MINISTERS | |
| Some MLA's of the ruling party are selected as Ministers of various departments by the Cheif Minister of the respective state. | Some MP's of the ruling party are selected as Ministers of various departments by the Prime Minister of the country. |
| SALARY | |
| The salaries of MLA's vary from state to state. AP state government pays R.s 1,30,000 each month, Delhi government pays R.s 2,10,000 each month and in addition to salary, there are many allowances. | The salary of the MP is around R.s 52,000 and there are many allowances like constituency allowances which sum up to 45,000 R.s, office allowances of 15,000 R.s, etc. |
| RESPONSIBILITY | |
| Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) is only responsible for a single constituency. | Member of Parliament (MP) is usually responsible for 7 to 9 constituencies in the district. |
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it is evident that both the MP’s and MLA’s are responsible for creating the policies and implementing the policies according to the powers they are granted by the Constitution of India. The functions of the ministers of state and central governments are the same and the only difference is that Central Government has Defense and External Affairs ministries, whereas State Governments don’t have those departments.
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