India runs on two ladders. Both end at you.

People you elect decide; officers who are appointed carry it out. Pick a state and climb the ladder from constituency to Parliament.

The story · step 1 of 5

28 states, one map

India is governed in layers. Click a state to dive in, or press Play to walk up the ladder: constituencies, then the state capital, then Parliament.

Who represents Karnataka

  • MLAsVidhan Sabha · Bengaluru224
  • MLCsVidhan Parishad75
  • MPs (Lok Sabha)Delhi · directly elected28
  • Rajya SabhaDelhi · chosen by MLAs12

Majority in the Assembly: 113 of 224. In Lok Sabha: 272 of 543.

Drawing India…

28
states
Layers

Selected

The card of Karnataka

MLAs (Assembly seats)
224
MLCs (Council seats)
75
MPs (Lok Sabha seats)
28
Rajya Sabha members
12
MLA seats per MP
≈ 8
Capital / Vidhan Sabha
Bengaluru

Click a state on the map to dive in.

224MLAs

Needs 4 more to reach the majority of 113.

A group needs more than half the seats to form the government. The Chief Minister leads that group.

Seat numbers: Election Commission of India and Parliament records. Constituency shapes come from the 2008 delimitation and are approximate.

The two ladders

Left: people you vote for. Right: officers who are hired. Tap any box to see who they are.

Elected · decides
Appointed · executes
Centre
State
District
Block / Taluk
Village

Close to home

The map shows state and national seats. The government closest to you is smaller: panchayats in villages and municipalities in cities. These are diagrams, not real boundaries.

In a village

A Gram Panchayat is split into wards. Each ward elects a member, and a Sarpanch leads. Larger tiers (block and district panchayats) sit above, each with its own elections.

Sarpanch1 headGram Panchayateach ward elects 1 member

In a city

A Municipality or Corporation is split into wards. Each ward elects a Councillor, and a Mayor presides. The appointed Commissioner runs the day-to-day work.

MayorCommissionerappointedpresidesMunicipal councilWard 1Ward 2Ward 3Ward 4Ward 5Ward 6Ward 7Ward 8Ward 9Ward 10Ward 11Ward 12each ward elects 1 councillor

How many people you vote for

Over a 5-year cycle a villager can vote for up to 6 different offices and a city resident for up to 4. You never vote directly for Rajya Sabha members or most MLCs; your representatives do.

Village

  • Ward member
  • Sarpanch*
  • Block / Mandal member
  • Zilla Parishad member
  • MLA
  • MP

City

  • Ward councillor
  • Mayor*
  • MLA
  • MP

* Direct or indirect depends on the state. Rural counts vary by state: some have 2 tiers of panchayat.

Not voted by you directly: Rajya Sabha members (chosen by MLAs) and most MLCs.