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Scientific article

Published:

This data shows why Indian MPs don’t truly represent their people

Written by

Francesca R. Jensenius
Former employee
Pradeep Chhibber
Harsh Shah

Ed.

Summary:

s the national elections of 2019 draw close, and incumbents prepare to face voters again, a straightforward question follows: how many people does a Member of Parliament really represent? On average, an Indian parliamentarian today represents constituencies with more than 1.5 million or 15 lakh eligible voters, or close to 2.5 million or 25 lakh citizens. This is more than the population of over 50 countries across the world and almost four times the number of citizens a Member of Parliament represented in the first Indian election in 1952.

The sheer size of the electorate that each MP is supposed to represent may be seriously undermining representative democracy in India.

Themes

  • Asia
  • Governance

Written by

Francesca R. Jensenius
Former employee
Pradeep Chhibber
Harsh Shah