India's 'Richest' MLA Has Assets Worth Rs 1,400 Crore, 'Poorest' MLA Has Only Rs 1,700

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• Jul 20, 2023 | Dhupali Das

The richest MLA in the country has assets worth over Rs 1,400 crore, while an MLA from...

Digital Desk: The richest MLA in the country has assets worth over Rs 1,400 crore, while an MLA from West Bengal does not even have even Rs 2,000, a report by an advocacy group has revealed. 

According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), D K Shivakumar, who became Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister following the Congress' stunning victory in the state Assembly elections in May, has assets worth Rs 1,413 crore. Moreover, the next two richest MLAs are also from the state.

Second on ADR's list of richest MLAs is KH Puttaswamy Gowda, an independent MLA with assets of Rs 1,267 crore. He is followed by Priya Krishna of the Congress Party, who has Rs 1,156 crore.

When asked about his assets, Shivakumar stated that he is not the wealthiest, but he is also not the poorest. "I am not the richest. These are assets that I acquired over time. My money is in the name of an individual, and I have kept it that way. "I am neither the richest nor the poorest," he said. 

Four of the top 10 richest MLAs are from the Congress, while three are from the BJP, sparking a spat between the two parties. 

Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad stated, "People like Shivakumar are businessmen. What is wrong with it, then? Look at BJP MLAs, particularly those accused of mining scams."

The BJP reacted by saying that Congress loves wealthy people. "Those in our party who were involved in mining scams got justice. The Congress loves rich people," said senior Karnataka BJP leader Suresh Kumar. 

Mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, who was a member of the BJP before launching his own party last year, is ranked 23 on the list of the richest MLAs. The majority of his assets are said to be in the name of his wife, Aruna Lakshmi, who ran in the Karnataka Assembly elections under the banner of the new Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha party.

On the other end of the spectrum is Nirmal Kumar Dhara, a BJP MLA from West Bengal, whose total declared assets are just Rs 1,700. He is followed by an Independent MLA from Odisha, Makaranda Muduli, who has 15,000, and Narinder Pal Singh Sawna of the AAP from Punjab, who has assets worth 18,370. 

Twelve of the 20 richest MLAs in the nation are from Karnataka. At 14%, the state also has the highest percentage of MLAs who are billionaires or have assets worth at least Rs 100 crore. Arunachal Pradesh comes in second on the list, with four of its 59 MLAs being billionaires, giving it a percentage of seven.