16% New Gujarat MLAs Face Serious Cases, 151 Of Them 'Crorepati':Report

Forty MLAs, comprising 22 per cent of the Assembly, have declared criminal cases against themselves. This is however less than the 2017 figure, when 47 legislators had declared criminal cases.

At least 29 out of the 40 MLAs have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. Serious offences include those that are non-bailable, carry a maximum punishment of five or more years, relate to losses to exchequer, assault, murder, kidnap, rape, or find a mention in the People Act (Section 8) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Three candidates face attempt to murder cases while one winner has declared a rape case under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code.

Twenty-six out of the 156 winning candidates from the BJP and nine out of the 17 winning candidates from Congress have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Twenty out of the 156 newly-elected BJP MLAs and four out of 17 candidates who won on a Congress ticket have declared serious criminal offences against themselves.

There are more 'crorepati' winners this time than in 2017. Out of the 182 newly-elected MLAs, 151 are 'crorepati' - 10 more than in 2017.

All three Independents and the lone Samajwadi Party winner - Kandhalbhai Jadeja - have declared assets worth over ₹ one crore.

Over 80 per cent of the winning candidates from the Congress and the BJP are 'crorepati'. Fourteen out of the 17 newly-elected Congress MLAs and 132 out of the 156 BJP winners have declared assets of over ₹ one crore.

The average assets per winning candidate for all 156 BJP winners is ₹17.15 crore. For the 17 Congress winners, this figure stands at ₹5.51 crore.

BJP's Jayantibhai Patel is the richest legislator in the incoming Assembly, with assets worth over ₹661 crore. Kokani Mohanbhai Dhedabhai of the BJP is the poorest winning candidate, with assets worth ₹18.56 lakh.