India's least wealthy MLA is from BJP: List of top 10 'poorest' MLAs | Check complete details
India's least wealthy MLA is from BJP: List of top 10 'poorest' MLAs | Check complete details
Poorest MLAs in India: According to ADR report, the financial disparity among MLAs is stark, with a gap of over Rs 3,382 crore between the wealthiest and least wealthy legislators.
Poorest MLAs in India: The study based on around 4,092 affidavits submitted before elections analysed MLAs across 28 State Assemblies and three Union Territories that revealed a striking wealth disparity among India's MLAs. A recent report by The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said that Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Nirmal Kumar Dhara from West Bengal tops the list of poorest MLAs with assets worth just Rs 1,700.
This report underscores the vast economic diversity within India's political landscape, raising questions about representation and resource distribution. Several MLAs declared assets below Rs 1 lakh, with the lowest being Nirmal Dhara from the saffron party.
Full list of the top 10 poorest MLAs in India:
Nirmal Kumar Dhara (BJP, West Bengal) – Rs 1,700
Narinder Pal Singh Sawna (AAP, Punjab) – Rs 18,370
Narinder Kaur Bharaj (AAP, Punjab) – Rs 24,409
Mehraj Malik (AAP, Jammu & Kashmir) – Rs 29,070
Pundarikakshya Saha (AITC, West Bengal) – Rs 30,423
State-wise, Tripura's MLAs have the lowest total assets at Rs 90 crore. The average assets per MLA present a similar picture, with Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka leading, while Tripura, West Bengal, and Kerala fall at the bottom.
(Image Source : ADR )List of top 10 'poorest' MLAs.
Tripura, Manipur, and Puducherry have least wealthy MLAs
Tripura, Manipur, and Puducherry have the lowest total assets among MLAs in India. Tripura ranks at the bottom, with its 60 MLAs declaring a total wealth of just Rs 90 crore, followed by Manipur with Rs 222 crore across 59 MLAs and Puducherry with Rs 297 crore among 30 MLAs. In terms of average assets per MLA, Tripura again records the lowest figure at Rs 1.51 crore, followed by West Bengal at Rs 2.80 crore and Kerala at Rs 3.13 crore. These numbers stand in stark contrast to states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where average assets per MLA exceed Rs 60 crore, reflecting the vast economic disparities among elected representatives across India
The states with the lowest average assets per MLA are as follows:
Tripura: Rs 1.51 crore per MLA (60 MLAs)
West Bengal: Rs 2.80 crore per MLA (293 MLAs)
Kerala: Rs 3.13 crore per MLA (134 MLAs)
The total assets of all 4,092 sitting MLAs in India amount to ₹73,348 crore. This combined wealth surpasses the annual budgets of Nagaland (Rs 23,086 crore), Tripura (Rs 26,892 crore), and Meghalaya (Rs 22,022 crore) put together.
CPI(M), RLD, and Tipra Motha among parties with lowest MLA wealth
Smaller parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), and the Tipra Motha Party have the lowest total assets among their MLAs. CPI(M), which has 76 MLAs, recorded total assets of Rs 103 crore, with an average wealth of just Rs 1.36 crore per MLA, making it the party with the least financially strong legislators among national parties.
Other National parties with relatively low average assets per MLA include the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at Rs 7.33 crore per legislator, and the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) at Rs 3.73 crore per MLA
The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), with 10 MLAs, reported total assets of Rs 75 crore, bringing its average per MLA to Rs 7.55 crore. The Tipra Motha Party, a regional political force in Tripura, has 13 MLAs with total assets of Rs 79 crore, averaging Rs 6.09 crore per MLA. Among the parties with only a single elected representative, the Indian National League’s sole MLA has assets worth Rs 4.38 crore, while the Janadhipathiya Kerala Congress MLA declared Rs 3.25 crore in assets.
