44% MLAs across India have criminal cases: ADR analysis quoting poll affidavits

A recent analysis conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has claimed that an approximate 44 per cent of MLAs in State Assemblies across India have declared criminal cases against themselves. The analysis, conducted by ADR and the National Election Watch (NEW), examined the self-sworn affidavits of current MLAs in state assemblies and union territories nationwide.

The data was extracted from the affidavits filed by the MLAs prior to contesting their most recent elections. The analysis encompassed a total of 4,001 MLAs out of the 4,033 individuals serving across 28 state assemblies and 2 Union territories.

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Of the MLAs analysed, the ADR said 1,136 or about 28 per cent have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, including charges related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women, among others.

In Kerala, 95 out of 135 MLAs, accounting for 70 per cent, have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Similarly, in Bihar, 161 out of 242 MLAs (67 per cent), in Delhi, 44 out of 70 MLAs (63 per cent), in Maharashtra, 175 out of 284 MLAs (62 per cent), in Telangana, 72 out of 118 MLAs (61 per cent), and in Tamil Nadu, 134 out of 224 MLAs (60 per cent) have self-declared criminal cases in their affidavits.

Additionally, the ADR reported that 37 out of 70 MLAs (53 per cent) in Delhi, 122 out of 242 MLAs (50 per cent) in Bihar, 114 out of 284 MLAs (40 per cent) in Maharashtra, 31 out of 79 MLAs (39 per cent) in Jharkhand, 46 out of 118 MLAs (39 per cent) in Telangana, and 155 out of 403 MLAs (38 per cent) in Uttar Pradesh have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

The analysis also unveiled disturbing statistics related to crimes against women. A total of 114 MLAs have declared cases pertaining to crimes against women, with 14 of them specifically declaring cases related to rape (IPC Section-376), as highlighted in the report.

Apart from criminal records, the analysis also examined the assets of the MLAs. The average assets per MLA from State Assemblies were found to be Rs 13.63 crores. However, the average assets of MLAs with declared criminal cases stood higher at Rs 16.36 crores, compared to Rs 11.45 crores for those with no criminal cases.

The ADR analysis further revealed the states with the highest and lowest average assets per MLA.

Karnataka topped the list with an average asset value of Rs 64.39 crores for its 223 MLAs, followed by Andhra Pradesh with Rs 28.24 crores for 174 MLAs, and Maharashtra with Rs 23.51 crores for 284 MLAs. In contrast, Tripura had the lowest average assets with Rs 1.54 crores for its 59 MLAs, followed by West Bengal with Rs 2.80 crores for 293 MLAs, and Kerala with Rs 3.15 crores for 135 MLAs.

Out of the 4,001 MLAs analysed, 88 (2 per cent) were found to be billionaires, possessing assets worth more than Rs 100 crores.

Karnataka had the highest number of billionaires among MLAs, with 32 out of 223 (14 percent), followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 4 out of 59 (7 percent), and Andhra Pradesh with 10 out of 174 (6 percent). Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh also had MLAs with assets surpassing the Rs 100 crore mark.