New Delhi: Nearly 70 per cent of sitting MLAs in Kerala have declared criminal cases against themselves, while more than half are crorepatis, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The analysis, conducted by ADR and Kerala Election Watch, examined affidavits of 132 sitting MLAs and found that 92 legislators have pending criminal cases. Of these, 33 MLAs, or 25 per cent, have declared serious criminal cases, including charges related to murder and attempt to murder.
The report noted that two MLAs have declared cases related to murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, while three face charges of attempt to murder under Section 307. Additionally, three MLAs have declared cases related to crimes against women, including one involving rape.
Party-wise data indicates a significant presence of such cases across political parties. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has 43 out of its 58 MLAs (74 per cent) facing criminal cases, while the Indian National Congress has 19 out of 21 MLAs (90 per cent) with such declarations. Among others, the Communist Party of India has 44 per cent of its MLAs with criminal cases, while the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has 86 per cent.
On the financial front, 72 MLAs (55 per cent) in Kerala have declared assets exceeding Rs 1 crore. The combined assets of all 132 legislators stand at Rs 363.78 crore, with an average of Rs 2.75 crore per MLA.
Among political parties, all MLAs from Kerala Congress (M), Janata Dal (Secular), Nationalist Congress Party and Kerala Congress have declared assets above Rs 1 crore. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has 86 per cent of its MLAs in the crorepati category, followed by the Congress at 62 per cent and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at 40 per cent.
The report identified Mathew Kuzhalnadan of the Congress as the richest MLA, with assets exceeding Rs 34 crore. He is followed by Independent MLA Mani C Kappen, who has assets worth over Rs 27 crore, and K B Ganesh Kumar of Kerala Congress (B), with assets exceeding Rs 19 crore.
At the other end of the spectrum, P P Sumod of the CPI(M) has declared assets of around Rs 9.9 lakh, making him the least wealthy among the MLAs analysed.
In terms of demographics, 61 per cent of MLAs have educational qualifications of graduate level or above, while 36 per cent have studied between Class 5 and 12.
Only 11 MLAs, or 8 per cent, are women.
The age profile shows that 70 per cent of the MLAs are between 51 and 80 years old, while 30 per cent fall in the 25-50 age group.
