An analysis of the election affidavits of 101 MLAs contesting the Punjab Assembly polls has found that on an average the assets of the re-contesting MLAs have increased by 21% since 2017. However, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is among the 21 MLAs whose assets have decreased over the past five years.

The report released by the Association for Democratic Reform (ADR) on Wednesday said 78 MLAs had seen their assets increase since 2017. The average assets of an MLA increased from ₹13.34 crore in 2017 to ₹16.10 crore now.

Shiromani Akali Dal president and Jalalabad MLA Sukhbir Singh Badal declared the highest increase in assets from ₹102 crore in 2017 to ₹202 crore this year. He was followed by Congress MLA from Bathinda Urban Manpreet Singh Badal, whose assets increased from ₹40 crore in 2017 to ₹72 crore in 2022. Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Sunam, Aman Arora, was at number three, with ₹95 crore in assets now, up from ₹65 crore in 2017.

On an average, the ruling-Congress’ re-contesting MLAs saw an 11.13% increase in assets, according to the ADR. The Akali Dal and the AAP MLAs saw a 49.91% and 46.39% increase respectively. The BJP’s five MLAs saw a 1% decrease from 2017 to now, according to the report.

Mr. Channi’s declared assets decreased from ₹14.51 crore in 2017 to ₹9.45 crore in 2022. Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, too, saw a slight decrease in assets, from ₹45.90 crore in 2017 to ₹44.65 crore now.