An analysis of the election affidavits of 101 MLAs contesting the Punjab Assembly polls has found that on an average the assets of the re-contesting MLAs have increased by 21% since 2017. However, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is among the 21 MLAs whose assets have decreased over the past five years.
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The report released by the Association for Democratic Reform (ADR) on Wednesday said 78 MLAs had seen their assets increase since 2017. The average assets of an MLA increased from ₹13.34 crore in 2017 to ₹16.10 crore now.
Shiromani Akali Dal president and Jalalabad MLA Sukhbir Singh Badal declared the highest increase in assets from ₹102 crore in 2017 to ₹202 crore this year. He was followed by Congress MLA from Bathinda Urban Manpreet Singh Badal, whose assets increased from ₹40 crore in 2017 to ₹72 crore in 2022. Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Sunam, Aman Arora, was at number three, with ₹95 crore in assets now, up from ₹65 crore in 2017.
On an average, the ruling-Congress’ re-contesting MLAs saw an 11.13% increase in assets, according to the ADR. The Akali Dal and the AAP MLAs saw a 49.91% and 46.39% increase respectively. The BJP’s five MLAs saw a 1% decrease from 2017 to now, according to the report.
Mr. Channi’s declared assets decreased from ₹14.51 crore in 2017 to ₹9.45 crore in 2022. Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, too, saw a slight decrease in assets, from ₹45.90 crore in 2017 to ₹44.65 crore now.