The seventh Delhi Assembly, which was elected on Tuesday, will have almost double the number of MLAs who have declared criminal cases against them compared to the sixth Assembly that was elected in 2015.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 62 out of the 70 seats while the BJP won the remaining eight seats. In 2015, AAP had won 67 seats and the BJP had got three.
According to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 43 out of the 70 newly elected MLAs, or 61%, have declared criminal cases.
After the 2015 Assembly elections, 34%, or 24 out of 70 MLAs, had declared criminal cases, stated the report by the ADR.
The number of MLAs who declared serious criminal cases, including crimes against women, murder, assault and corruption, has jumped from 14, or 20% of the total, in 2015, to 37, or 53%, in the newly-elected Assembly, the ADR added.
Of the 62 AAP MLAs, 38, or 61%, have declared criminal cases against themselves in their election affidavits.
Five of the eight BJP MLAs, or 63%, declared criminal cases against themselves, the ADR added.
Nine of the newly elected Delhi MLAs declared convictions in various cases.
Rich legislators
In terms of their financial backgrounds, 74% of the newly elected MLAs declared assets of over ₹1 crore, an increase from 63% in 2015. This time, 73% of AAP MLAs and 88% of BJP MLAs declared assets of over ₹1 crore. The average assets of MLAs increased from ₹6.29 crore in 2015 to ₹14.29 crore now.
Three AAP MLAs were the ones with the highest assets, with Mundka MLA Dharampal Lakra declaring assets worth ₹292 crore, followed by R.K. Puram MLA Parmila Tokas, who declared ₹80 crore in assets, and Patel Nagar MLA Raaj Kumar Anand who declared ₹78 crore in assets, the ADR report stated.
A total of 42 out of 70 MLAs, or 60%, declared educational qualification of graduation and above; and 56%, or 39 out of 70 candidates, are aged between 25 and 50 years.
Eight women have been elected to the Delhi Assembly this time, while in 2015, the figure stood at six.
