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National Legislators’ Conference Bharat (NLC Bharat) is an avenue for Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and Members of Legislative Councils (MLCs) across the nation to gather at one place and exchange ideas in this historic conference. The first edition of NLC Bharat took place in Mumbai from 15th to 17th June 2023. MLAs and MLCs from across the political parties and from all the States and UTs were provided with a unique opportunity to interact with each other. The first edition of the conference was conducted with the objectives of cross-learning and enhancement of legislative effectiveness at its core. The legislators acquired experiential learnings through thematic discussions along with a mix of thoughtfully curated large-format plenary sessions, brainstorming parallel sessions amongst the legislators, a showcase of States’ and UTs’ pavilions and commendable practices, and extensive informal interactions amongst the legislators, party leaders, Living Icons of Bharat and CSR representatives. Sessions on strengthening democracy with the participation of acclaimed national and global leaders took place during the conference. The conference provided a platform for the MLAs and MLCs to creatively showcase the cultural flavor of their region. A platform like NLC was a long due for a thriving democracy like ours, while only some other democracies in the world have non-partisan forums for State Legislatures. NLC Bharat proved to be a true celebration and reflection of Bharat’s vibrant democracy and one of its key strengths – its elected representatives.
NLC Bharat envisions a non-partisan ecosystem to promote education, training, skill development and capacity enhancement, interstate and international cooperation of legislators and legislative staff to advance effectiveness and independence of legislative bodies by fostering democratic values and practices of good governance.
The National Legislators’ Conference in Bharat aims to:
National Legislators’ Conference Bharat, is Bharat’s first non-partisan organisation. As a high-level forum, NLC Bharat aspires to train, exchange ideas, build connections and capacity, and elevate the voices of the legislators of all the States and Union Territories. The idea of NLC Bharat emerged out of a long and tenuous process of establishment of the MIT School of Government (MIT-SOG) by Shri. Rahul V. Karad in the year 2005 to provide political training to youngsters interested in joining politics.
The MIT-SOG soon initiated the Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad (BCS), the largest annual platform for socially and politically inspired youth in the country. Further, the National Women’s Parliament (NWP) and Rashtriya Sarpanch Sansad have been established to promote women’s empowerment and strengthen grassroots democracy. The deliberations on these platforms have led to the conceptualization of the NLC Bharat for State Legislators.
In 2022, 4 former speakers of Lok Sabha – Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Dr. Meira Kumar, Shri. Manohar Joshi and Shri. Shivraj Patil and incumbent speakers of State Legislative Assemblies and Chairpersons of State Legislative Councils got together and envisioned a single national organization to support, defend and strengthen state legislatures. A conceptual exercise was held in Pune, Maharashtra on the 16th of September 2022 and a visioning exercise was organized in New Delhi on the 7th of November 2022 for the formation of the National Legislators’ Conference Bharat in June 2023, A planning workshop was organized in Pune on 6th December 2022 to give final shape to the conference. The NLC Bharat is supported by various state Legislatures, former senior bureaucrats, members of civil societies. MIT School of Government, Bhartiya Chhatra Sansad and Atulya Bharat Nirman Foundation shared the responsibilities to organize the first NLC Bharat from 15th to 17th June 2023 in Mumbai.
This non-partisan platform is intended for all the Legislatures of Bharat who wish to become a member of NLC Bharat.
This includes Members of Legislative Assemblies along with Speakers & Deputy Speakers of Legislative Assemblies
of 28 States and 2 Union Territories. It also includes Members of Legislative Councils and Chairpersons & Deputy Chairpersons
of Legislative Councils of 6 states of Bharat. This is a step towards bringing together the decision makers of a democratic Bharat.