Jharkhand: 89% Of Newly Elected MLAs Are Crorepatis, Finds Study

Eighty-nine per cent of the newly elected MLAs in Jharkhand are 'crorepatis', and among them, Rameshwar Oraon of the Congress is the richest with total assets worth Rs 42.20 crore, according to a report released on Monday.

The Jharkhand Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms analysed the affidavits of 80 out of 81 winning candidates and found that 71 newly elected MLAs in 2024 are ‘crorepatis’, which is 20% higher than the number of such legislators elected in 2019.

Of the 81 MLAs elected five years ago, 56 were ‘crorepatis’, and there were 41 in 2014, according to the report.

Of the 71 'crorepati' MLAs this year, 28 are from JMM, 20 from BJP, 14 from Congress, four from RJD, two from CPI(ML) Liberation and one each from LJP (Ram Vilas), JD(U) and AJSU Party.

The JMM won 34 assembly seats, and its allies Congress 16, RJD four and CPI(ML) Liberation in two constituencies.On the other hand, the BJP won 21 assembly segments, and its partners LJP (Ram Vilas), JD(U) and AJSU Party secured one each.

The average of assets per winning candidate in the Jharkhand assembly elections in 2024 is Rs 6.90 crore, and the same was Rs 3.87 crore in the 2019 elections.

Among the winning candidates, Congress Lohardaga MLA Rameshwar Oraon is the richest with total assets of Rs 42.20 crore, the report said.

BJP’s Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Mehta, who secured the Panki constituency, is the second richest winning candidate with total assets of Rs 32.15 crore, while RJD’s Sanjay Prasad Yadav, who bagged the Godda seat, is the third on the list with total assets of Rs 29.59 crore, according to it.

Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha’s (JLKM) Jairam Kumar Mahato, who emerged victorious from the Dumri seat, has the lowest assets worth around Rs 2.55 lakh.

As many as 14 winning candidates have declared liabilities of Rs 1 crore and above, the report said.

Altogether 42 MLAs have been re-elected and their average asset growth is Rs 2.71 crore in the last five years, it stated.

Forty-three winning MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves, which include 36 legislators who are facing serious criminal cases, the report said.

As per the report, 12 out of 34 winning MLA candidates from JMM and 13 out of 21 winning MLA candidates from BJP have declared that they are facing criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Similarly, eight winning assembly candidates from Congress, four from RJD, two from CPI-ML Liberation, and one each from AJSU Party, LJP (RV), JD-U and JLKM are also facing criminal cases, it said.

As many as 28 winning candidates have declared their educational qualification to be between Class 8 and 12 pass, while 50 are graduates and above, one winner is a diploma holder, and another has declared himself just literate.

The number of women candidates who won in the state assembly elections increased to 12 from 10.