New Delhi | Kerala has recorded a sharp rise in the number of newly elected MLAs with declared criminal cases and crorepati legislators in its recently concluded elections, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms and Kerala Election Watch said.
The report, which analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 135 out of 140 winning candidates, found that 114 MLAs, or 84 per cent, have declared criminal cases against themselves, up from 96 legislators, or 71 per cent, in the 2021 assembly polls.
Among them, 77 winning candidates, or 57 per cent, have declared serious criminal cases, compared to 37 MLAs, or 27 per cent, in 2021.
The report said one winning candidate has declared a murder case under IPC Section 302, while another has declared a case related to attempt to murder under IPC Section 307. Three winning candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women, including one accused under provisions related to repeated rape.
Party-wise, 53 out of 59 winning Congress candidates, 20 out of 26 CPI(M) winners and all three BJP winners have declared criminal cases in their affidavits.
On the financial front, 93 of the 135 winning candidates, or 69 per cent, are crorepatis, compared to 75 MLAs, or 55 per cent, in the 2021 Assembly.
The average assets of winning candidates have more than doubled from Rs 3.12 crore in 2021 to Rs 6.94 crore in 2026, the report said.
The combined assets of the 135 analysed winning candidates stand at Rs 937 crore.
Among the richest winners, Kerala Congress candidate Reji Cheriyan from Kuttanad topped the list with declared assets worth over Rs 218 crore. BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar was second with assets exceeding Rs 111 crore, followed by Kerala Congress candidate Shibu Theckumpuram with assets of more than Rs 68 crore.
The report also showed that Rajeev Chandrasekhar had declared the highest liabilities among winning candidates at over Rs 109 crore.
In terms of educational qualifications, 98 winning candidates, or 73 per cent, declared themselves graduates or above, while 31 candidates said they had studied between Class 8 and Class 12.
Women continue to remain underrepresented in the assembly, with only nine women MLAs, or seven per cent of the total winners, compared to 11 women legislators in 2021.
The report further noted that 55 MLAs were re-elected in 2026, with their average assets increasing by 20 per cent since the previous election.
