From ₹3,383 Crore to ₹1,700: ADR report highlights stark wealth disparity among India's richest and poorest MLAs
The BJP has both the richest MLA in India and also the poorest.
BJP MLA Parag Shah from Ghatkopar East, Maharashtra, has been declared India's richest legislator, with assets worth ₹3,383 crore, according to the latest report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
In sharp contrast, BJP’s Nirmal Kumar Dhara from Indus, West Bengal, just ₹1,700 to his name.
The report, based on self-sworn affidavits submitted before elections, analysed 4,092 MLAs across 28 State Assemblies and three Union Territories. Here are its findings:
Top 10 wealthiest MLAs in India
According to ADR, these are the ten richest MLAs in the country:
- Parag Shah (BJP, Maharashtra) – ₹3,383 crore
- D.K. Shivakumar (INC, Karnataka) – ₹1,413 crore
- K.H. Puttaswamy Gowda (Independent, Karnataka) – ₹1,267 crore
- Priyakrishna (INC, Karnataka) – ₹1,156 crore
- N. Chandrababu Naidu (TDP, Andhra Pradesh) – ₹931 crore
- Ponguru Narayana (TDP, Andhra Pradesh) – ₹824 crore
- Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (YSRCP, Andhra Pradesh) – ₹757 crore
- V. Prashanthi Reddy (TDP, Andhra Pradesh) – ₹716 crore
- Jayantibhai Somabhai Patel (BJP, Gujarat) – ₹661 crore
- Suresha B.S. (INC, Karnataka) – ₹648 crore
10 least wealthy MLAs
On the other end of the spectrum, several MLAs declared assets below ₹1 lakh, with the lowest being Nirmal Kumar Dhara:
- Nirmal Kumar Dhara (BJP, West Bengal) – ₹1,700
- Narinder Pal Singh Sawna (AAP, Punjab) – ₹18,370
- Narinder Kaur Bharaj (AAP, Punjab) – ₹24,409
- Mehraj Malik (AAP, Jammu & Kashmir) – ₹29,070
- Pundarikakshya Saha (AITC, West Bengal) – ₹30,423
- Anil Kumar Anil Pradhan (SP, Uttar Pradesh) – ₹30,496
- Sanjali Murmu (BJP, Odisha) – ₹35,076
- Chandana Bauri (BJP, West Bengal) – ₹62,296
- Nandita Debbarma (Tipra Motha, Tripura) – ₹63,000
- Ramvriksh Sada (RJD, Bihar) – ₹70,000
Key Highlights from the Report
- Southern states dominate the list of wealthiest MLAs, with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh accounting for a majority.
- The financial disparity among MLAs is stark, with a gap of over ₹3,382 crore between the wealthiest and least wealthy legislators.
The ADR report excluded 24 MLAs due to unreadable affidavits and did not cover seven vacant assembly seats.
Andhra Pradesh Dominates Wealthiest MLAs List, Four in Top 10, Seven in Top 20
Andhra Pradesh tops the list the most high-net-worth legislators, with four MLAs among India's top 10 wealthiest and seven in the top 20, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Among the top 10 richest MLAs, Andhra Pradesh is represented by:
- N. Chandrababu Naidu (TDP, Kuppam) – ₹931 crore
- Ponguru Narayana (TDP, Nellore City) – ₹824 crore
- Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (YSRCP, Pulivendla) – ₹757 crore
- V. Prashanthi Reddy (TDP, Kovur) – ₹716 crore.
Additionally, three more legislators from Andhra Pradesh feature in the top 20, including:
- Nara Lokesh (TDP, Mangalagiri) – ₹542 crore
- Yeluri Sambasiva Rao (TDP, Parchur) – ₹295 crore
- Lokam Naga Madhavi (Janasena, Nellimarla) – ₹291 crore
The MLA with the lowest declared assets in Andhra Pradesh is Aithabathula Anandarao (TDP, Amalapuram SC), who has total assets worth ₹5.79 crore
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra alone account for 76 of India's 119 billionaire legislators, highlighting the increasing financial power of elected representatives.
Among the three, Karnataka holds the highest total assets among its MLAs, with a staggering ₹14,179 crore. Maharashtra follows with ₹12,424 crore, while Andhra Pradesh stands at ₹11,323 crore. Despite Karnataka leading in total assets, Andhra Pradesh surpasses both states in average assets per MLA, with each legislator in the state owning an average of ₹65.07 crore—the highest in India. Karnataka closely follows with an average of ₹63.58 crore per MLA, while Maharashtra trails at ₹43.44 crore.
When it comes to billionaire MLAs, Andhra Pradesh has 27 legislators with assets over ₹100 crore, making up 16% of its total MLAs—the highest percentage in the country. Karnataka ranks second with 31 billionaire MLAs, accounting for 14% of its legislators, while Maharashtra has 18 billionaire MLAs, making up just 6% of its assembly. This suggests that wealth among MLAs in Andhra Pradesh is concentrated among fewer individuals, whereas in Karnataka, wealth is more widely spread.
Tripura, Manipur, and Puducherry have the 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 ₹90 crore, followed by Manipur with ₹222 crore across 59 MLAs and Puducherry with ₹297 crore among 30 MLAs. In terms of average assets per MLA, Tripura again records the lowest figure at ₹1.51 crore, followed by West Bengal at ₹2.80 crore and Kerala at ₹3.13 crore. These numbers stand in stark contrast to states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where average assets per MLA exceed ₹60 crore, reflecting the vast economic disparities among elected representatives across India
States with the lowest average assets Per MLA
The states with the lowest average assets per MLA are:
Tripura: ₹1.51 crore per MLA (60 MLAs)
West Bengal: ₹2.80 crore per MLA (293 MLAs)
Kerala: ₹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 (₹23,086 crore), Tripura (₹26,892 crore), and Meghalaya (₹22,022 crore) put together.
BJP, INC, and TDP lead in MLA wealth, YSRCP has highest average per legislator
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds the highest total assets among MLAs in India, with 1,653 legislators declaring a combined wealth of ₹26,270 crore, giving an average of ₹15.89 crore per MLA, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report. The Indian National Congress (INC) follows, with 646 MLAs holding total assets worth ₹17,357 crore, translating to an average of ₹26.86 crore per MLA. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), despite having only 134 MLAs, ranks third with ₹9,108 crore in total assets, with average per MLA at ₹67.97 crore.
Among independent candidates, 64 MLAs together declared ₹2,388 crore, with an average wealth of ₹37.31 crore per legislator. Shiv Sena’s 59 MLAs reported total assets of ₹1,758 crore, averaging ₹29.81 crore per MLA, while DMK’s 132 MLAs accounted for ₹1,675 crore in assets, with an average of ₹12.69 crore per legislator. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has 53 MLAs, collectively holding ₹1,176 crore in assets, resulting in an average of ₹22.20 crore per MLA.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also feature on the list, with SP’s 110 MLAs holding ₹1,110 crore (₹10.09 crore per MLA) and BRS’s 28 MLAs declaring ₹1,031 crore (₹36.82 crore per MLA). Meanwhile, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) stands out, despite having only 11 MLAs, with total assets worth ₹1,091 crore, making it the party with the highest per-MLA average of ₹99.19 crore.
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 ₹103 crore, with an average wealth of just ₹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 ₹7.33 crore per legislator, and the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) at ₹3.73 crore per MLA
The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), with 10 MLAs, reported total assets of ₹75 crore, bringing its average per MLA to ₹7.55 crore. The Tipra Motha Party, a regional political force in Tripura, has 13 MLAs with total assets of ₹79 crore, averaging ₹6.09 crore per MLA. Among the parties with only a single elected representative, the Indian National League’s sole MLA has assets worth ₹4.38 crore, while the Janadhipathiya Kerala Congress MLA declared ₹3.25 crore in assets.