43 BJP MLAs and 29 Congress MLAs have declared assets over Rs 1 crore
The BJP won the Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections, securing 54 seats and surpassing the Congress, which has been reduced to 35 seats in the 90-member assembly. The Gondvana Gantantra Party (GGP) won a single seat.
A detailed analysis has found that 24 members have been re-elected to the assembly, with 18 from the Congress and 6 from the BJP. The number of MLAs with declared assets worth over a crore (crorepati MLAs) has increased from 68 in 2018 to 72 in 2023. The average assets per winning BJP candidate is Rs 5.70 crore, for the 35 winning candidates of the Congress, it stands at Rs 4.70 crore, and the Gondvana Gantantra Party's only winner has average assets worth Rs 26.03 lakh.
Criminal Background
The proportion of MLAs with a criminal background has decreased by 10 per cent from 24 in 2018 to 17 in 2023. Furthermore, the number of members with serious criminal cases against them has fallen from 13 in 2018 to 6 in 2023. From the affidavits declared, 12 BJP and 5 Congress legislators have criminal cases against them, while 4 BJP and 2 Congress MLAs have declared serious criminal cases.
Financial Background
There has been a rise in crorepati members by four percentage points from 2018 to 2023. Currently, 80 per cent of the assembly members are crorepati candidates. Bhawna Bohra of the BJP is the wealthiest member with assets worth Rs 33.86 crore, closely followed by former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel with Rs 33.38 crore.
The average assets per winning candidate in the 2023 elections have decreased to Rs 5.25 crore from Rs 11.63 crore in 2018. Party-wise, 43 BJP MLAs and 29 Congress MLAs have declared assets over Rs 1 crore.
Education and Other Background Details
In the educational domain, 33 members have qualifications ranging from the Class 5 to Class 12, whereas 54 have attained graduate level or higher.
Women's representation in the assembly has increased significantly, with a seven-percentage-point surge, culminating in 19 women legislators (MLAs).
In age distribution, 44 winning candidates are between 25 and 50 years old, while the rest 46 are aged between 51 and 80 years.