Himanta vowed to make Assam top 5, now he is one of the richest CMs: Gogoi

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has come under fire from Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi following a report highlighting his significant personal wealth. Sarma was ranked the seventh-richest chief minister in India, with declared assets totalling approximately Rs 17 crore, according to a report published Monday by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

 

Gogoi took to social media platform X to point out the contradiction between Sarma’s personal wealth and his development promises for Assam. “What was promised by the BJP Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that Assam will be in the top five states in India in terms of development. Instead, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself is on the verge of becoming the one of the top five richest Chief Ministers in India,” Gogoi mentioned.

 

 

According to the ADR report, while Sarma is among the wealthiest, Assam ranks 31st in the Human Development Index (HDI), which points out a gap between the state’s economic progress and the chief minister’s wealth. Gogoi questioned, “Is this the ‘development’ promised by the double-engine BJP government?”

 

Furthermore, citing that while four chief ministers from NDA who are from Northeast India have made it to the top 10 list of the richest chief ministers published by the ADR, Congress’ deputy leader in Lok Sabha said the development indices of their respective states are behind.

 

ADR’s richest CMs list 

 

According to the ADR’s latest report, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is the richest CM in India with assets over Rs 931 crore, and West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee is the least wealthiest with just Rs 15 lakh. The average wealth of a chief minister in India stands at approximately Rs 52.59 crore, which is significantly higher than the national per capita income of Rs 1.85 lakh.

 

Other top rich chief ministers are Arunachal Pradesh’s Pema Khandu with over Rs 332 crore in assets and Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah with assets more than Rs 51 crore. The report also disclosed that several chief ministers from Northeast India, including Sarma, are among the richest, though their states are still struggling with development, as seen in the HDI rankings.