TDP tops wealth charts with 26 per cent of its ministers being billionaires, while there are 36 billionaire ministers across states and the Union Council of Ministers

Nearly half of India’s current ministers across states, Union Territories, and the Union Council of Ministers face criminal proceedings, including grave charges such as murder, attempt to murder, and crimes against women. At the same time, India’s political class remains extraordinarily wealthy, with average assets worth Rs 37.21 crore per minister and at least 36 billionaire ministers.

These are the findings of the latest analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW), which examined 643 self-sworn affidavits filed with the Election Commission of India between 2020 and 2025.

According to the study, 302 ministers (47%) have declared criminal cases, while 174 (27%) face serious criminal charges.

The situation varies widely across states:

• In 11 Assemblies, including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Puducherry, more than 60 per cent of the ministers face criminal cases.
• By contrast, states like Haryana, J&K, Nagaland, and Uttarakhand report zero ministers with pending cases.
• At the Union level, 29 of 72 ministers (40%) in the Cabinet face criminal charges.

There is also a deep disparity between parties. In the TDP, 96 per cent of its ministers face criminal cases, while 57 per cent face serious charges. This is followed by the DMK, wherein 87 per cent of ministers have criminal cases. The INC has 74 per cent of ministers with criminal charges, and 30 per cent of these are serious. The BJP, with 336 ministers, has 40 per cent with criminal cases and 26 per cent with serious charges. As for AAP, 69 per cent of ministers face criminal charges.

The ADR analysis also highlights India’s staggering political wealth. Collectively, ministers have declared assets worth Rs 23,929 crore. (Average per minister: Rs 37.21 crore.)

36 billionaire ministers are present across states and the Union Council of Ministers.

Big spenders: 11 Assemblies have billionaire ministers, with Karnataka leading with eight, followed by Andhra Pradesh (six) and Maharashtra (four).

Among party lines:

• TDP tops wealth charts with 26 per cent of its ministers as billionaires.
• INC follows with 18 per cent, while BJP has four per cent.
• Smaller parties like JD(S) (50 per cent) and Janasena Party (33 per cent) have disproportionately high representation of billionaires.

The richest minister in India today is Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani (TDP, Guntur MP), with assets worth Rs 5,705 crore. He is followed by DK Shivakumar (INC, Karnataka) with Rs 1,413 crore and Chandrababu Naidu (TDP, Andhra Pradesh) with Rs 931 crore.

At the other end of the spectrum, Tripura minister Sukla Charan Noatia (IPFT) owns just Rs 2.06 lakh in declared assets, making him the least wealthy in the ministerial ranks. Others like Birbaha Hansda (AITC, West Bengal) and Santana Chakma (BJP, Tripura) also declared assets under Rs 5 lakh.

Interestingly, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared modest assets worth just Rs 15.38 lakh, placing her among the ten ministers with the lowest wealth.

The study also shows some ministers are saddled with liabilities running into hundreds of crores. Pemmasani, while the richest, also tops the debt chart with liabilities of Rs 1,038 crore. Other indebted politicians include Mangal Prabhat Lodha (BJP, Maharashtra) with Rs 306 crore in liabilities and DK Shivakumar with Rs 265 crore.

The ADR report also highlighted the gender skew in India’s power structure. Only 63 women (10%) are among 643 ministers, despite some states like West Bengal showing higher representation (20 per cent). Several states, including Goa, Himachal, Puducherry, and Sikkim, have no women ministers at all.

As for education levels, 71 per cent have a graduate or higher degree, while 26 per cent have studied only up to Class 12. Indian cabinets are also predominantly middle-aged. 61 per cent of ministers are between 41–60 years of age, while 33 per cent are over 60. Just six per cent of ministers are under 40.

The ADR findings reiterate the longstanding concern that money, crime, and politics continue to be a systemic barrier to transparency and genuine public accountability.