Mumbai: The number of questions raised by Mumbai’s MLAs in the state legislative assembly has fallen by 72% over 15 years, with the city’s legislators asking 2,213 questions between the winter (2024) and monsoon (2025) sessions of the 15th assembly compared with 7,955 during the corresponding period for the 12th assembly (winter session of 2009 to monsoon session of 2010), according to Praja Foundation’s Mumbai MLAs’ Report Card 2026, released on Tuesday.The drop comes even as working days for the legislature have reduced. During its first year (2024-25), the 15th assembly met for 40 working days, while the number was 47 for the 12th assembly and 50 for the 13th.MLAs of the Congress occupied the top three positions in Praja’s report card: Amin Patel representing Mumbadevi constituency was ranked first, followed by Aslam Shaikh from Malad and Jyoti Gaikwad from Dharavi. The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sunil Prabhu (Dindoshi) and Manoj Jamsutkar (Byculla) came in fourth and fifth. The rankings were based on scores across four parameters: attendance, number of questions asked, quality of questions, and criminal record, with negative marking for criminal cases. The overall rank was determined after applying prescribed weightages to each parameter, Praja said.The report also pointed to a gradual increase in the average age of Mumbai’s MLAs: it was 52 years in the 12th assembly, 51 in the 13th, 53 in the 14th, and it rose to 57 years in the 15th assembly.Praja assessed the performance of 33 of the city’s 36 MLAs during the 15th assembly. Milind Mhaske, CEO of Praja Foundation, said, “The three not included were MLA Rahul Narwekar, who is the assembly Speaker, and cabinet ministers M P Lodha and Ashish Shelar.”Mhaske said, “An MLA’s performance is ultimately about one fundamental question: are citizens’ concerns reaching the floor of the House? Our findings show that while some MLAs are making strong use of the assembly as a forum for representation and deliberation, there are also significant gaps in legislative performance.”He said the consolidated performance of Mumbai’s MLAs presented a concerning picture, with the average score failing to show a positive trend over successive assemblies. “The assembly is where issues affecting millions of citizens should be raised, questioned and debated. When the House meets, the quality of that time matters,” he said, highlighting the sharp fall in the number of questions asked.At the bottom of the rankings were Prakash Surve of Shiv Sena, ranked 33, Ashok Patil of Shiv Sena (32) and Ram Kadam of BJP (31).Political analyst Surendra Jondhale said, “The decline in the number of questions reflects a decline in democratic debate on the floor of the assembly. There is increasing chaos, adjournments and a reluctance to ask questions. There is political apathy, with even the opposition not raising enough questions, while the governing party often tries to put pressure on it. Instead of substantive discussions, there is more shouting and disruption, leaving little room for meaningful debate.”On the changing profile of legislators, Jondhale said, “The new recruits in political parties often lack strong political associations or grassroots-level political networks. Elections have become increasingly expensive, and unless young candidates have strong financial backing, they find it difficult to contest elections and sustain themselves in politics. This is one of the reasons the average age of legislators continues to remain high.”
