Legislators in an Indian State: A Study of Role Images and the Pattern of Constituency Linkages

Abstract

This study is based on interviews conducted in 1970-1971 with 130 of the 184 members of the legislative assembly in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The members reported that voters most often expected them to deal with problems of local development, which was the issue most often stressed by members in their election campaigns. Most members reported that they devoted a considerable amount of time to this goal, particularly by working with the local rural panchayati raj institutions. Members stressed the importance of personal popularity, and not just party strength, in winning elections, and sought to maintain this primarily by personal contact with constituents. Members of the Congress Party sought to deal with constituent grievances primarily by contacting administrative officials, while opposition party members were more likely to raise issues in the legislature. There are also differences in the roles assumed by members in the assembly, derived from their status as members of the governing party or the opposition.