The average assets of 167 sitting of Madhya Pradesh who have filed nominations to get re-elect saw an overall increase of 71% in their assets, revealed a report by Association For Democratic Reforms(ADR)-an organizational that works for electoral reforms and Madhya Pradesh Election, another such organization.
The report that is based on the affidavits of candidates that was filed during nomination. According to the report, the average assets of the 167 MLAs, who are re-contesting the polls, went up from Rs 5.15 crore five years ago to Rs 8.79 crore this time, which indicates an average increase rise of Rs.3.64 in the assets of legislators of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.
Of the 167 legislators, 107 belong to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, while 53 are from the Congress. There are four BSP, one SP and two independent candidates trying to get re-elected in the upcoming state elections.
While the BJP lawmakers’ assets increased by nearly 85 percent from Rs 4.6 crore in 2013 to Rs 8.5 crore this year, Congress MLAs who are in the fray to re-elect went up by close to 50 percent from over Rs 6 crore in 2013 to more than Rs 9 crore in 2018, said the ADR report.
But the increase in assets was the highest among those who fought on SP and BSP tickets. The data showed that the average assets of the four re-contesting BSP candidates went up nearly 140 percent from Rs 3.22 crore to Rs 7.74 crore. Similarly, the sole re-contesting SP member in the electoral race saw a three-fold increase in his assets. As per the report, the assets of the SP MLA increased from Rs 42 lakhs in 2013 to Rs 1.7 crore in 2018.
The polling in the state is scheduled for November 28, while results will be announced along with all other states assembly elections on December 11.