Karnataka MLAs' assets more than that of legislators in 21 states: Report

The average assets of a sitting legislator in India is Rs 13.63 crore, says civil society group ADR

The total assets of Karnataka MLAs, at Rs 14,359 crore, are not only more than the individual annual budgets 2023-24 of Mizoram and Sikkim but also more than the total combined assets of sitting legislators in 21 states and union territories, said the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Tuesday.

The total combined assets of sitting MLAs (Members of Legislative Assemblies) in Rajasthan, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa, Meghalaya, Odisha, Assam, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Puducherry, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are Rs 13,976 crore.

The ADR analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 4,001 sitting MLAs (of the total 4033) of 84 political parties and independents across 28 state assemblies and two Union Territories. The ADR’s report said that the average assets per sitting MLA is Rs 13.63 crore.

The total assets of 4,001 sitting MLAs are Rs 54,545 crore. This amount is more than the combined annual budget for 2023-24 of three states - Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim - totalling Rs 49,103 crore. The annual budget for 2023-24 of Nagaland is Rs 23,086 crore, Mizoram is Rs 14,210 crore, and Sikkim is Rs 11,807 crore.

It found that the total assets of 223 Karnataka MLAs are Rs 14,359 crore, followed by 284 (of 288) MLAs analysed from Maharashtra Rs 6,679 crore, and 174 (of 175) MLAs analysed from Andhra Pradesh have total assets worth Rs 4,914 crore. The total assets of MLAs from Uttar Pradesh (403 MLAs) are Rs 3,255 crore, Gujarat (182 MLAs) Rs 2,987 crore, Tamil Nadu (224 MLAs) Rs 2,767 crore and Madhya Pradesh (230 MLAs) Rs 2,476 crore.

The states with the lowest total assets of MLAs are Tripura, where the cumulative assets of its 59 MLAs are Rs 90 crore, followed by Mizoram, whose 40 MLAs have total assets of Rs 190 crore, and 60 MLAs from Manipur have total assets worth Rs 225 crore.

Among major parties, the average assets per MLA for 1356 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs analysed are Rs 11.97 crore, for 719 Congress MLAs Rs 21.97 crore, for 227 Trinamool Congress Rs 3.51 crore, for 161 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs analysed is Rs 10.20 crore and 146 YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLAs have average assets worth Rs 23.14 crore.

The total assets of 1356 BJP MLAs are Rs 16,234 crore, of 719 Congress MLAs Rs 15,798 crore, of 146 YSRCP MLAs Rs 3,379 crore, of 131 DMK MLAs Rs 1,663 crore and 161 AAP MLAs have total assets worth Rs 1,642 crore.