New Delhi, May 5: Around 17 per cent of newly elected MLAs in Assam have declared criminal cases against themselves, while a striking 85 per cent are crorepatis, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report, which analysed affidavits of all 126 winning candidates in the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, shows a decline in the proportion of candidates with criminal cases compared to the previous election. In 2021, 27 per cent, or 34 of the winning candidates had declared criminal cases against them, which has now dropped to 17 per cent, or 21 candidates.
This includes 19, or 15 per cent, candidates facing serious charges. This is also a decrease from 2021, when 28, or 22 per cent of MLAs had declared serious criminal cases.
Among specific offences, three winning candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder, while two candidates have reported cases related to crimes against women.
The data reveals sharp variation across political parties. Among the BJP, 7 out of 82 winning candidates, or 9 per cent, have declared criminal cases. In the Congress, 9 out of 19 winners, or 47 per cent, face such cases.
The report added that two winning candidates from the All India United Democratic Front and one Trinamool Congress candidate have also declared criminal cases against themselves.
Notably, all 10 winning candidates from the Bodoland People’s Front have clean records.
At the same time, 7 (9 per cent) out of 82 winning candidates from BJP, 7 (37 per cent) out of 19 winning candidates from INC, both the two (100 per cent) winning candidates of AIUDF, the one winner (100 per cent) from AITC, one (50 per cent) out of the two winning candidates from Raijor Dal and one (10 per cent) out of the 10 winning candidates from Asom Gana Parishad have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
The report also highlighted a steep increase in the wealth of elected representatives. As many as 107 out of 126 MLAs (85 per cent) are crorepatis, up from 67 per cent in 2021.
The total declared assets of all winning candidates stand at Rs 1,112 crore. The average asset per MLA has nearly doubled to Rs 8.82 crore in 2026, compared to Rs 4.59 crore in the previous election.
Among the political parties, 90 per cent of BJP MLAs are crorepatis, followed by 74 per cent MLAs from the Congress and 80 per cent from the Bodoland People’s Front. All winners from the AIUDF, AITC and Raijor Dal have declared assets exceeding Rs 1 crore.
In terms of average wealth, AIUDF candidates top the list with average assets of Rs 117.77 crore, followed by Bodoland People’s Front (Rs 9.92 crore) and the BJP (Rs 7.50 crore). Congress MLAs have average assets of Rs 6.51 crore, while Asom Gana Parishad candidates report a lower average of Rs 2.81 crore.
Raijor Dal MLAs have average assets of Rs 1.54 crore.
Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal of AIUDF is the richest winning candidate with assets worth over Rs 226 crore, followed by Sewli Mohilary of Bodoland People’s Front with assets worth Rs 63 crore, and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is third with assets worth Rs 35 crore. (PTI)
