Businesspersons, older legislators dominate India's Assemblies, Lok Sabha

India's legislative assemblies and Lok Sabha show trends of rising educational qualifications, and increased representation of businesspersons, but women's representation remains critically low

In recent times, more people identifying their profession as ‘businesspersons’ are being elected to India’s legislative assemblies. This trend is observed not only in industrialised states such as Maharashtra but also in agrarian ones like Jharkhand. 

India’s legislative assemblies are older than they were a decade ago, with more legislators holding college degrees. The representation of women, however, remains abysmal and may improve only after the 106th Amendment to the Constitution, which reserves a third of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats for women, is implemented. 

In the recently concluded Jharkhand Assembly polls, data compiled by PRS Legislative Research, a public policy think tank, show the median age of elected MLAs rose from 43 in 2009 to 53 in 2024. As many as 12 women were elected to the 81-member Assembly, comprising 15 per cent of the House—the highest ever for Jharkhand. 

Among the newly elected MLAs, 37 per cent identified as ‘businesspersons,’ up from 27 per cent in 2019 and 26 per cent in 2014. Legislators often indicate more than one profession, and 31 per cent said they are agriculturists, up from 26 per cent in 2019. However, in 2014, 36 per cent identified as agriculturists. In 2024, 70 per cent of the MLAs described themselves as politicians or social workers, similar to 2019. 

In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the proportion of MLAs with college degrees has risen over the past decade. In 2014, 47 per cent said they had studied up to higher secondary, decreasing to 45 per cent in 2019 and 41 per cent in 2024. The number of graduates and postgraduates increased from 53 per cent in 2014 to 55 per cent in 2019 and 59 per cent in 2024. 

The average age of Maharashtra MLAs increased from 49 in 2009 to 54 in 2024, while women’s representation remains low at 8 per cent. In 2024, 86 per cent of Maharashtra MLAs declared agriculture and/or business as their profession. Those identifying as businesspersons rose from 49 per cent in 2014 to 52 per cent in 2019 and 55 per cent in 2024. 

In the 15th Haryana Assembly, elections for which were held in October, 14 per cent of MLAs are aged above 70, up from 7 per cent in 2019 and 1 per cent in 2014. Forty-one per cent of MLAs identified as ‘businesspersons,’ a slight increase from the previous Assembly. 

In the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, where elections were also held in September-October, only 7 per cent of MLAs are aged 24 to 40, down from 13 per cent in 2014 and 15 per cent in 2008. Meanwhile, 44 per cent are aged 56 to 70, up from 28 per cent in 2008 and 2014, and 8 per cent are above 70, up from 5 per cent in 2014. Seventy per cent of MLAs have graduate or postgraduate degrees, up from 66 per cent in 2014, according to data from mynetainfo.com. 

In the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, elections for which were held alongside the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the number of members younger than 40 decreased from 18 in 2019 (11 per cent) to 11 in 2024 (7 per cent). Eight per cent of MLAs are above 70, compared to 2 per cent in 2019, and 35 per cent are aged 56 to 70, up from 33 per cent in 2019. 

However the Odisha Assembly, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), ending Naveen Patnaik’s 24-year-long tenure, has been an outlier. The average age of MLAs in the new Assembly decreased from 53 in 2019 to 51 in 2024. The share of MLAs aged 25 to 40 increased from 10 per cent in 2019 to 14 per cent in 2024, while those above 55 years decreased from 40 per cent to 33 per cent. However, the proportion of MLAs with at least an undergraduate degree dropped from 73 per cent in 2019 to 65 per cent in 2024, according to PRS Legislative Research. 

In the 18th Lok Sabha, the average age of MPs is 56 years, down from 59 years in the 17th Lok Sabha, which was the oldest ever. The 18th Lok Sabha, however, remains the second oldest, closely followed by the 13th Lok Sabha (1999–2004), with an average age of 55.5 years. 

Seventy-eight per cent of MPs in the current Lok Sabha have completed at least undergraduate education. This proportion increased steadily from the 1st Lok Sabha until the 11th (1996–98), after which it began to decline. However, it has since risen again, from 73 per cent in the 17th Lok Sabha to 78 per cent in the 18th Lok Sabha. 

In the 18th Lok Sabha, 179 MPs (33 per cent) identified agriculture as their profession, down from 230 MPs (41 per cent) in the 17th Lok Sabha. Businesspersons account for 18 per cent of MPs, or 100 members, down from 144 MPs (26 per cent) in the 17th Lok Sabha but still the second highest ever. In the 16th Lok Sabha (2014–19), 79 MPs (15 per cent) identified as businesspersons.