A recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has revealed that Parag Shah, BJP MLA from Mumbai’s Ghatkopar East, is India’s wealthiest legislator, with declared assets worth nearly ₹3,400 crore. Following him is Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar, MLA from Kanakapura, whose assets exceed ₹1,413 crore.
The ADR report, based on self-sworn affidavits submitted before elections, analyzed financial disclosures of 4,092 MLAs across 28 state assemblies and three Union Territories. It excluded 24 MLAs due to unreadable affidavits and seven vacant seats.
At the opposite end of the wealth spectrum stands BJP MLA Nirmal Kumar Dhara from Indus, West Bengal, with assets amounting to just ₹1,700—the lowest among all sitting legislators.
Among the wealthiest MLAs, other prominent names include:
- KH Puttaswamy Gowda (Independent, Karnataka) – ₹1,267 crore
- Priyakrishna (Congress, Karnataka) – ₹1,156 crore
- N. Chandrababu Naidu (CM, Andhra Pradesh) – ₹931 crore
- P Narayana (TDP, Andhra Pradesh) – ₹824 crore
- YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (Former AP CM) – ₹757 crore
- V Prashanthi Reddy (TDP, Andhra Pradesh) – ₹716 crore
Wealth distribution among MLAs varies significantly across states. Karnataka leads with its 223 MLAs holding a total of ₹14,179 crore in assets, followed by:
- Maharashtra (286 MLAs) – ₹12,424 crore
- Andhra Pradesh (174 MLAs) – ₹11,323 crore
Meanwhile, states with the least total assets among MLAs include:
- Tripura (60 MLAs) – ₹90 crore
- Manipur (59 MLAs) – ₹222 crore
- Puducherry (30 MLAs) – ₹297 crore
Highest and lowest average assets per MLA:
- Andhra Pradesh MLAs average ₹65.07 crore, followed by Karnataka at ₹63.58 crore and Maharashtra at ₹43.44 crore.
- Tripura MLAs average ₹1.51 crore, while West Bengal and Kerala average ₹2.80 crore and ₹3.13 crore, respectively.
The total combined wealth of all 4,092 MLAs stands at a staggering ₹73,348 crore—more than the combined annual budgets of Nagaland, Tripura, and Meghalaya. Among the major political parties:
- BJP MLAs (1,653 members) hold assets worth ₹26,270 crore.
- Congress MLAs (646 members) own ₹17,357 crore.
- TDP MLAs (134 members) control ₹9,108 crore.
- Shiv Sena MLAs (59 members) have ₹1,758 crore.
- AAP MLAs (123 members) possess an average of ₹7.33 crore per legislator.
The ADR report highlights the stark economic disparity between India’s wealthiest and poorest MLAs, emphasizing the financial power concentrated among a select few in state legislatures.
