Delhi: MLAs got richer; candidates with fewer criminal cases were elected

Delhi's newly elected MLAs average assets have surged to ₹22.04 crore, up from ₹14.29 crore in 2020, with 44% surpassing ₹10 crore.

The average legislator in the Capital has grown richer, an analysis of the assets declared by the MLAs elected to the eighth Delhi legislative assembly has revealed.

A polling staff carries an EVM on voting day on Wednesday. (ANI)

A report by non-profit organisation Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Delhi Election Watch has revealed that the newly elected MLAs have average assets of ₹22.04 crore per candidate. This marks a significant rise from the 2020 assembly, where the average assets per MLA were ₹14.29 crore.

31 of the winning candidates — 44% — have assets exceeding ₹10 crore, while nine MLAs (13%) have assets of ₹5-10 crore. Only two candidates declared assets below ₹20 lakh.

The average assets of the 22 MLAs who have been re-elected has increased from ₹7.04 crore in 2020 to ₹8.83 crore in 2025 — reflecting a 25% rise in wealth.

The three richest winning candidates are all from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — Karnail Singh (BJP) from Shakur Basti with declared assets of ₹259 crore, Manjinder Singh Sirsa (BJP) from Rajouri Garden with ₹248 crore, and Parvesh Verma from New Delhi with ₹115 crore.

On the lower end of the spectrum, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjeev Jha, who won the Burari seat, has declared assets of ₹14.47 lakh.

The liabilities among winning candidates are also notable — 23 have declared liabilities exceeding ₹1 crore. Verma has the highest liabilities at ₹74 crore, followed by Sirsa (BJP) at Rs. 57 crore and Tarvinder Singh Marwah (BJP, Jangpura) at ₹13 crore.

In terms of criminal records, 31 (44%) winning candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, a decline from 43 (61%) in the 2020 elections. Of these, 17 (24%) candidates face serious criminal charges, as compared to 37 (53%) in the 2020 elections.

The educational background of the winning candidates reveals that 23 (33%) have qualifications between classes 5 and 12, while 45 (64%) hold graduate degrees or higher. Additionally, two winners are diploma holders.