Key Points:
- BJP MLA Parag Shah from Maharashtra is India’s richest legislator with ₹3,383 crore.
- BJP also has India’s poorest MLA, Nirmal Kumar Dhara from West Bengal, with ₹1,700.
- Southern states dominate the list; Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have most wealthy MLAs.
- ADR analyzed 4,092 MLAs across 28 states and three Union Territories.
- BJP MLAs collectively hold highest total assets; TDP has highest average per MLA.
New Delhi: In a striking revelation highlighting the wealth disparity among Indian legislators, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has released its latest report on the financial status of MLAs across the country. The report identifies BJP’s Parag Shah, representing Ghatkopar East in Maharashtra, as India’s richest MLA with declared assets amounting to a staggering ₹3,383 crore. At the opposite end of the spectrum stands another BJP legislator Nirmal Kumar Dhara from Indus in West Bengal with assets totaling merely ₹1,700.
The ADR report is based on detailed analysis of self-sworn affidavits submitted by 4,092 MLAs from 28 state assemblies and three Union Territories. The findings underscore a massive financial gap exceeding ₹3,382 crore between the richest and poorest legislators.
Southern States Lead in Wealthy Legislators
Southern states prominently feature on the list of India’s wealthiest MLAs. Andhra Pradesh alone has four legislators among the top ten richest MLAs and seven within the top twenty. Notable names include former Chief Ministers N. Chandrababu Naidu (₹931 crore) and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (₹757 crore), along with TDP leaders Ponguru Narayana (₹824 crore) and V. Prashanthi Reddy (₹716 crore).
Karnataka also features prominently with Congress leader DK Shivakumar (Kanakapura constituency) ranked second nationally at ₹1,413 crore. Other wealthy Karnataka MLAs include independent legislator KH Puttaswamy Gowda (₹1,267 crore) and Congress MLA Priyakrishna (₹1,156 crore).
Party-wise Wealth Distribution
The ADR study reveals that BJP’s 1,653 MLAs collectively possess total assets worth ₹26,270 crore the highest among all political parties averaging ₹15.89 crore per legislator. The Indian National Congress (INC), with 646 MLAs, holds combined assets of ₹17,357 crore at an average of ₹26.86 crore per MLA.
Interestingly, despite having fewer legislators (134), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ranks third nationally in total wealth at ₹9,108 crore but leads significantly in average wealth per MLA at ₹67.97 crore.
State-wise Disparities
The report further highlights stark state-level disparities in wealth distribution among legislators:
- Highest Average Assets per MLA:
- Andhra Pradesh: ₹65.07 crore
- Karnataka: ₹63.58 crore
- Maharashtra: ₹43.44 crore
- Lowest Average Assets per MLA:
- Tripura: ₹1.51 crore
- West Bengal: ₹2.80 crore
- Kerala: ₹3.13 crore
Collectively, India’s sitting MLAs hold assets worth ₹73,348 crore exceeding the combined annual budgets of Nagaland, Tripura, and Meghalaya for FY 2023-24.
This ADR report brings into sharp focus the vast economic disparities within India’s political landscape and raises important questions regarding political representation and resource distribution across different regions and parties in the country.
