Difference between MLA and MP

The democratic governance in India is administered by people’s representatives. The terms MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) and MP (Member of Parliament) refer to the directly and indirectly elected representatives of the country in the state government and union government respectively.

MLA and MP

Indian democratic governance is designed as an area based representation system. The body administering a state or union territory in the country is called an assembly. MLAs are the representatives elected during direct elections conducted at the assembly constituencies of a state. The republic of India is governed by the parliament which consists of the Lok Sabha (lower house) and Rajya Sabha (upper house). The members of the Lok Sabha are elected through direct elections conducted from the parliamentary constituencies and the members of the Rajya Sabha are elected through indirect elections by the MLAs. Both the members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are called MPs or Members of Parliament.

Difference between MLA and MP

An MLA is the elected representative of the legislative assembly of a state. He or she represents the people of the assembly constituency from where they have been elected. An MP is the member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. They work for the parliamentary constituency which they represent.

MLAs are elected by the eligible electors in an assembly constituency during state level elections. MPs of the Lok Sabha are elected directly during Lok Sabha elections. MPs of the Rajya Sabha are indirectly chosen by the MLAs.

How MLA and MP works

The principal objective of democratic elections in the state is to ensure that every vote has the same value. The country is divided into constituencies in a way each constituency will consist of an approximately equal population residing there. Each parliamentary constituency comprises many assembly constituencies. Hence for every MP in the central government, there are about 7 to 9 MLAs in the state government.

MLAs work at the state level while the MPs work at the central level for the general public. They are the custodians and promoters of developmental projects at their respective constituencies. Elections are the avenues through which people are able to select their representatives and also constitute their own government.

Responsibilities of MLA and MP

India follows a parliamentary type of governance. The state governments and the union government act in coordination to govern the country. The various topics related to the democratic governance in India are brought under three heads namely union list, state list and concurrent list. The topics in the union list come under the purview of the parliament. The topics under the state list come under the purview of the state government. The concurrent list comprises topics that are common to both the central and the state governments.


The main responsibility of MLAs and MPs is to make laws based on the constitution of India. The State Legislature takes care of the items in the state list and some items in the concurrent list. The parliament takes care of the items in the union list and some items in the concurrent list. Various bills related to the governance are passed in the assembly and parliament in the state and union level during different sessions. The MLAs and MPs vote for the bills and participate in the making of laws in the state level and central level respectively.