They are elected to voice our concerns and legislate on our behalf. But a few MLAs take their primary responsibility in the state Assemblies seriously.

New data released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows all the five states in the election mode had legislature sittings way below the Lok Sabha average.

In the outgoing House, Uttar Pradesh MLAs had just 20 per cent attendance.
But the state with the largest Assembly — 403 seats — still managed to push through 157 bills. Manipur which votes on Saturday, passed just 35 in comparison.

While MLAs in Uttarakhand were far more conscientious about their presence in the state Assembly with 91 per cent of them attending, the House was in session for just 19 days a year in the last five years. So also Punjab. The Lok Sabha has had sittings for 77 days a year in comparison.

When it came to making their voice heard, Goa’s opposition MLAs were far ahead. The BJP asked all the questions, putting in 8,796 of them to trip the Congress led government in the Assembly. In the Manipur House only 565 questions were put to the government in five years, and in Punjab just 658.

ADR which has activated the National Election Watch said political parties must include parametres for improving the performance of legislatures in their manifestos. Tickets should be given to candidates suitable for legislation, NEW said.