VISAKHAPATNAM: The average assets per MLA in Andhra Pradesh stand at about Rs 65.07 crore, the highest among legislators across all 28 states in India.
Following Andhra Pradesh are Karnataka, with an average MLA asset value of Rs 63.58 crore, and Maharashtra, at Rs 43.44 crore. This contrasts sharply with the national average of Rs 17.92 crore, according to an analysis conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) across 28 states and three Union Territories.
The study reviewed the affidavits of 174 MLAs out of the total 175 in Andhra Pradesh. The average assets of Telangana MLAs are Rs 38 crore.
Four MLAs from Andhra Pradesh rank among the top 10 wealthiest in the country: chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu (5th richest with Rs 931 crore), minister P Narayana (6th richest with Rs 824 crore), former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (7th richest with Rs 757 crore), and Kovur MLA V Prashanthi Reddy (8th richest with Rs 716 crore).
IT minister Nara Lokesh (Rs 542 crore), Hindupur MLA N Balakrishna (Rs 482 crore), and Kadapa MLA Madhavi Reddappagari (Rs 388 crore) feature among the top 20, totalling to seven legislators in the top 20. Deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan ranks 66th in the national wealth standings.
A concerning statistic is that 138 MLAs (79%) from Andhra Pradesh have declared criminal cases against them, the highest percentage among any state. This is closely followed by 93 MLAs (69%) from Kerala, 82 (69%) from Telangana, 158 (66%) from Bihar, 187 (65%) from Maharashtra, and 132 (59%) from Tamil Nadu.
Among the 138 MLAs with criminal cases in Andhra Pradesh, 98 face serious charges, again the highest proportion for any state, while 59 (50%) Telangana MLAs are implicated in serious criminal cases.
As many as 32 MLAs have declared cases related to attempted murder, 21 have cases involving crimes against women, and one MLA has been accused of rape.
Andhra Pradesh also leads in terms of billionaire MLAs, with 27 (16%) of its legislators declaring assets ex-ceeding Rs 100 crore. This is the highest percentage among states, followed by Karnataka with 31 billionaires (14%), Maharashtra with 18 (6%), Telangana with 7 (6%), Haryana with 5 (6%), Arunachal Pradesh with 3 (5%), and Delhi with 3 (4%).
In Telangana, Chennur MLA G Vivekanand ranks as the 11th richest MLA in the country with Rs 606 crore in assets, while Munugode MLA K Raj Gopal Reddy is 15th with Rs 458 crore. Palair MLA Srinivasa Reddy is in 19th place with assets totalling Rs 433 crore.Regarding educational qualifications, of the 174 MLAs whose affidavits were analysed by ADR, 54 hold at least a postgraduate degree, and 68 more are graduates.
Moreover, 52 MLAs have educational qualifications ranging from Class V to intermediate/diploma.The ADR and NEW study examined the self-sworn affidavits of current MLAs from state assemblies and Union Territories across the country.
This data is drawn from affidavits submitted by MLAs before contesting their most recent elections. A total of 4,092 MLAs out of 4,123 have been analysed, covering all 28 state assemblies and 3 Union Territories. Affidavits of 24 MLAs could not be assessed due to poor scanning quality, and seven seats in various state assemblies are currently vacant.
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J Umamaheswara Rao is an Assistant Editor, at the Times of India-...
Read MoreJ Umamaheswara Rao is an Assistant Editor, at the Times of India-Visakhapatnam. He reports on urban development affairs, civic infrastructure, planning policies, education, health, science, emerging technologies, startups, research, and data-driven stories. He holds postgraduate degrees in journalism & mass communication, business administration, and English, plus several fellowships & short-term courses.
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