Lok Sabha polls 2024: A guide to picking your MP

If you live in Bengaluru, chances of coming face-to-face with your parliamentary candidates are high. One of the nice things about elections in Bengaluru is that candidates from all parties show up! They want to meet and greet as many voters as possible and make an impression. They will bump into you early morning in your park, in your resident welfare association (RWA) or apartment community meeting, at the bus stop or in the bus or metro, local darshini or flower market.

What not to ask your Member of Parliament (MP) candidate?

First things first: Remember that our vote this time is for a Member of Parliament, not a Municipal Corporator. Therefore, do not bother candidates with potholes and garbage. They are important issues, but MPs are not accountable for them. They are not appropriate issues for this election.

Just like we won’t go to a cardiologist for a fracture, we should not ask MP candidates for things they are not responsible for.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and MPs have much different job roles than city corporators, whose job is to give you a better quality of life. MLAs are expected to make policy for the entire state and MPs for the whole country. That is why they are called ‘policy makers’. We are electing policymakers this election.

MLAs and MPs are different. The Constitution of India clearly defines their roles. We have three lists: the Union List, the State List, and the Concurrent List. These lists have different things that state and Centre deal with, and the subjects both of them deal with. MPs can be questioned on the issues on Union and concurrent lists.

What can you ask MP candidates?

Let’s first understand what an MP is supposed to do. There are just 543 MPs for 140 crore Indians. Each MP represents 25 to 30 lakh voters. Bengaluru, which has 1.4 crore people, has four MPs.

Once elected, the MP will represent you in Parliament. When a policy is being made, your MP must be present, read the material, take a stand for or against the proposed policy, present her arguments, and influence the policy to make it best.

MPs can ask ministers questions, verbal or written, raise urgent issues, highlight any problems constituents face, and seek intervention from the concerned ministry. Remember— MPs don’t need RTI. They can simply ask, and ministers are obligated to respond.

Consider the example of Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale from Maharashtra, who used to be a right-to-information activist. After becoming an MP, he now asks questions in the Parliament and gets official responses.
MPs can and should make suggestions to the Finance Ministry while preparing the Annual Union Budget and participate in its discussion. Unless MPs vote, the budget will be a paper.

Outside the Parliament

Outside the Parliament, the MP’s role is to ensure Union government schemes and programmes are executed well in the constituency. This means your MP can visit the local school railway station or any public office and seek information from the concerned officials. Using it, MPs can propose changes to the policy itself or recommend taking action on officials who may not be delivering on their job.

Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds are a unique feature; each MP gets Rs 5 crore yearly for local area development works. This is negligible compared to the lakhs of crores of the union budget, but it can be used on meaningful projects meant for communities.

Voters who follow the developments in the city have specific areas of interest. Some are avid followers of railways. Many voters, especially young people, are deeply concerned about the environment and climate crisis impacting our city. Education is always a burning topic, and job creation and unemployment are critical for the future of India. Some are deeply concerned about foreign relations and macroeconomic policy.

Engage in topics that interest you to understand what your candidate is made of. Here are some ideas to get started:

Tax devolution: The hottest topic of discussion this election is how the Union government is shortchanging Karnataka despite it being the second-highest tax contributor. What is the candidate’s view on this subject? How does she ensure the sharing system is fair and transparent for all states, particularly Karnataka?

Railways: The railways department is entirely run by the union government, and our only link to Railways is our MP. Karnataka and Bengaluru have underdeveloped rail networks and train services, and the suburban train for Bengaluru has been pending for 30+ years. Ask the candidates what they think of the Railways in Karnataka and what they will do to make the suburban train a reality in the next five years.

Bengaluru: Bengaluru is India’s cash cow. We are India’s second-highest tax-paying city, but the city gets very little back to invest in infrastructure and public transport. Bengaluru created lakhs of jobs, leading to migration and population explosion, but we are always playing catch up with infrastructure. Massive investment in public infrastructure will do wonders to expedite work in public transport, lake rejuvenation, air quality, and rainwater harvesting. Does the candidate agree with this? If elected, how will you bring more funds to Bengaluru?

Job creation: What policies must be changed to create more jobs? As AI threatens to take over many jobs, what is your take on future jobs in Bengaluru and India? What will you do about it?

Climate change: Compared to Delhi, Bengaluru feels like heaven, but now the harsh reality of climate change and weather extremes is staring at us. This winter was like summer, and summer has been hotter than ever. What do you think the central government can do to retain the beautiful weather of Namma Bengaluru?

Urban governance: No one seems accountable for governing Bengaluru. We have had no mayor for the past three years. Even when there is one, she has limited powers. What is your view on how cities, especially Bengaluru, should be governed?

International relations: What is your take on our diplomatic stand on the Russia-Ukraine war? How can we become an export nation in the next five years? How important is manufacturing for the domestic market in reducing imports? What is your take on sending citizens to Israel as workers?

Also, question the candidates on transparency, accountability and institutional independence, such as ED, electoral bonds, RTI, etc., to know them better.

How to evaluate your MP

An MP is supposed to attend Parliament sessions, ask questions to reveal information of public interest, participate in debates, and bring the House’s attention to issues related to the constituency or the state. The data related to these are documented at https://sansad.in/. You can check this to see your MP’s work in the Parliament. Every MP gets local area development funds, which she/he can spend on chosen works that matter to the constituency. The data is not public, but one can ask the MP to provide it to see how much has been useful.

What makes a good MP?

Good experience with governance and public policy

Experience in politics and relevance to being an elected representative

Meaningful interactions with all sections of society

Ability to build consensus across party lines

Accessibility to public

Questions for Bengaluru MPs

Ask about utilising defence and union government lands within each Lok Sabha constituency for public road purposes to address Bengaluru’s traffic congestion.

Explore the MP’s efforts in advocating for increased funding from the union government to address the disparity in returns compared to Bengaluru’s significant contribution as the second-largest taxpayer city in the country.

Ask about the MP’s role in expediting the completion of metro train projects, which are crucial for efficiently addressing the city’s transportation needs.

Ask about the MP’s efforts towards developing satellite cities to ease the stress on Bengaluru and foster balanced regional growth.

Ask about the Hindi imposition by the union government in South India, especially Karnataka, and the MP’s role in promoting the development of the Kannada language and resisting such imposition.

Ask about efforts to get more funds to the state through various central government programmes such as Jal Jeevan Mission.

(The author is a civic activist. More inputs: Raghavendra H S)

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