Interestingly, a staggering 44% of the 70 newly elected legislators in the Delhi Assembly have criminal cases filed against them. Among these, 17 face serious charges, including one for attempted murder and two related to crimes against women.
The Association for Democratic Reforms and Election Watch conducted a detailed study of the affidavits submitted by the successful candidates during the Delhi Assembly elections, leading to these sobering findings.
The report brings to light that 33% of the 48 newly elected BJP legislators and 68% of the 22 from the Aam Aadmi Party face criminal charges, with 7 from the BJP and 10 from the AAP charged with serious offenses.
On a different note, the collective wealth of these 70 legislators amounts to a hefty 1542 crore INR. Among them, three boast billionaire status, with 31 holding assets over 10 crore INR. Nine MLAs have properties valued between 5-10 crore INR, while 21 possess assets ranging from 1-5 crore INR. Conversely, nine MLAs have assets under 1 crore INR. The average asset value of these legislators stands at 22.4 crore INR, a significant rise from 14.29 crore INR in 2020, indicating an increase of 8 crore INR over five years.
BJP legislators hold an average asset value of 28.59 crore INR, whereas Aam Aadmi Party legislators average 7.74 crore INR. At the top, BJP legislator Karnail Singh from Shakur Basti has an impressive 259 crore INR in assets. Coming second is Manjinder Singh Sirsa from Rajouri Garden with assets worth 248 crore INR, followed by Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma from New Delhi at 115 crore INR. On the lower end, the least wealthy is AAP's Sanjeev Jha from Burari with 14 lakh INR, Prem Chauhan from Devli holds 16 lakh INR, and Ravikant from Trilokpuri with 20 lakh INR.
