Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2023: Who Are The Richest And Poorest Candidates In The Fray?

In the 2023 Chhattisgarh elections, T.S. Singh Deo stands out as the wealthiest MLA, boasting assets worth an impressive Rs 500 crore. A recent report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Chhattisgarh Election Watch reveals this staggering financial status.

This comprehensive study delved into the backgrounds of 88 out of 90 sitting MLAs, extracting data from affidavits submitted by candidates prior to the 2018 assembly elections and by-elections. Two seats, namely Baloda Bazar and Vaishali Nagar, remain vacant and were not included in the analysis.

Out of the 88 analysed sitting MLAs, 21 (24%) have declared criminal cases against themselves, with 11 (13%) of them facing serious criminal charges.
A breakdown by political party reveals:

18 (25%) out of 71 INC MLAs and 3 (21%) out of 14 BJP MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Moreover, 11 (15%) out of 71 INC MLAs have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Financial backgrounds:

Of the 88 sitting MLAs, a staggering 65, or 74% of them, are millionaires, with an average asset value per MLA of Rs 10.50 crore.
The party-wise distribution is as follows:

50 (70%) out of 71 INC MLAs, 13 (93%) out of 14 BJP MLAs, 1 (50%) out of 2 BSP MLAs, and 1 (100%) Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J) MLA have declared assets valued at more than Rs 1 crore.

As for the richest MLA in Chhattisgarh:

• Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister T.S. Singh Deo tops the list with assets exceeding Rs 500 crore.
• Amitesh Shukla, the MLA from Rajim, holds the second position with declared assets worth Rs 74 crore.
• Saurabh Singh Thakur, a BJP MLA from Akaltara, follows with assets valued at Rs 27 crore, according to the ADR report.
• In contrast, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, representing the Patan constituency, possesses total assets worth Rs 23 crore. Former Chief Minister of the state and BJP leader Raman Singh has declared total assets worth Rs 10 crore.

MLAs with the lowest assets:

• Ram Kumar Yadav, representing the Chandrapur constituency, has declared assets worth Rs 30,000.
• Gulab Singh Kamro and Shakuntala Sahu, representing the Bharatpur-Sonhat (ST) and Kasdol constituencies, respectively, have declared assets of five lakh each.