Assembly polls 2022: Meet the MLAs elected to power  

Five Indian states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa went to polls earlier this year. After the results of the polls were out on March 10, we analysed the profiles of the 691 new MLAs, looking at their education level, profession, assets and their criminal track record.

The proportion of elected legislators with a criminal record is alarming in these polls, while many of them seem to be quite wealthy. The number of women elected to power continues to be abysmally low. A positive factor is that about 70 per cent MLAs have a college degree, with 22 of them holding a PhD degree.

Of guns and cases

314 of the elected MLAs have at least one criminal case filed against them. This means approximately 45 per cent of the new MLAs across five states have criminal records, as per their affidavits submitted to the Election Commission of India.

In UP

Mohammad Azam Khan of the Samajvadi Party with 87 criminal cases filed against him, tops the list of MLAs with criminal records. Representing Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, this 73-year-old is one of the founding members of the party and says in his affidavit that he is a social worker. Charges against him include sexual harassment, extortion and attempt to murder. Quite bizarrely, Khan owns three licenced guns, two in his name and one in his wife’s.

Trailing behind Khan is his son Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan. The 43 cases against him include charges of sexual harassment and forgery. The 31-year-old MLA, who is also a social worker like his father, represents Suar in Rampur. Of the 10 MLAs in UP with the maximum criminal cases against them, nine are from SP and one is from BSP. Five of them hold at least one licenced gun. The MLAs with criminal cases against them include UP’s former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

In Punjab

When it comes to Punjab, AAP MLAs Sheetal Angural, Manjinder Singh Lalpura and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer have the highest number of cases against them. While Angural has nine criminal cases, Lalpura and Hayer have five cases each. In Manipur, Janata Dal United’s Khumukcham Joykisan Singh has eight cases against him. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kongkham Robindro Singh and Tongbram Robindro Singh, and Indian National Congress’ Okram Ibobi Singh have four cases against each of them.

In Goa

In Goa, INC’s Sankalp Amonkar and Digambar Kamat have five and four cases against them respectively, making them the MLAs in the state with the worst criminal track record.

Richest of them all

You need to have deep pockets to become an MLA. Analysis of the affidavits shows that across five states, 87 per cent of the new MLAs have assets worth more than ₹1 crore. This includes the total value of their movable and immovable assets, including cash in hand, gold, land, cars and deposits

The richest person who was elected recently is Aam Aadmi Party’s Kulwant Singh, who now represents Punjab’s SAS Nagar. He was the first Mayor of Mohali and is the Managing Director of Janta Land Promoters Ltd. A major chunk of his wealth comes from the shares of the company.

The second richest MLA is from Uttar Pradesh — BJP’s Meerut Cantt MLA Amit Agarwal, with assets worth ₹148 crore. He runs a real estate business, has agricultural income and also earns pension as a former MLA. He had contested from an SP ticket in 2007. According to details of his then affidavit, available with open data platform Association for Democratic Reforms, he owned assets worth ₹10 crore at that time. Uttarakhand’s richest MLA is independent MLA Umesh Kumar, who rose to fame six years ago, after conducting a sting operation on the then Chief Minister. He has assets worth ₹54 crore, that include 12 cars. His cars include a Mercedes Gle-2017, a Mercedes S Class 350, a Jaguar XF and an Audi. He also has 16 criminal cases filed against him.

Goa’s rich couples

In Goa, the richest MLAs are a married couple— INC’s Michael Lobo and his wife Delilah Lobo— who represent Calangute and Siolim respectively, have combined assets worth ₹92 crore. Apart from their deposits and savings, the couple own eight cars, trucks, a tempo traveller, eight scooters, seven houses and eight commercial buildings. Michael Lobo was a BJP MLA in the previous term, and at that time his wealth was almost half. The Lobos then owned assets worth ₹54 crore . The Lobos aren’t the only rich MLA couple in Goa. BJP’s Atanasio Monserrate and Jenifer Monserrate, a married couple who represent Panaji and Taleigão respectively own eight cars, eight two-wheeler vehicles, 1.4 kg gold, 11 commercial buildings and 14 houses. The Monserrates also saw their wealth double in the last five years. According to Atanasio Monserrate’s affidavit from the 2017 elections, the couple’s net worth was around ₹23 crore.

The current Goa assembly has another MLA couple — BJP’s Dr Deviya Rane and her husband Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane— who represent Poriem and Valpoi respectively. The couple together have assets worth ₹23 crore. Interestingly, every MLA in the state has assets worth over a ₹1 crore.

How educated are the new MLAs?

Among the new MLAs, 22 hold a PhD degree. A total of 487 new MLAs (70 per cent) have college degrees. When it comes to profession, most of Goa’s MLAs (70 per cent) are business owners. In Manipur, 38 of 60 MLAs are social workers, including the state’s Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

The set of new Manipur MLAs include five former civil servants, too. In Uttarakhand, 24 MLAs practice agriculture. 42 per cent of Punjab’s MLAs own a business. The state’s new MLAs include 12 doctors, eight lawyers and two singers. More than half of Uttar Pradesh’s MLAs (225) practice agriculture. This list includes Akhilesh Yadav and the richest MLA Amit Agarwal.

The gender equation

While the states voted progressively, electing more educated people to govern them, the proportion of women MLAs in these states still remains quite low. However, the numbers have slightly improved from the last term. For instance, in Punjab, there are 13 women MLAs this term, forming 11 per cent of the assembly. The last Punjab Assembly had only six women MLAs.

In Uttar Pradesh, the number has gone up from 41 to 47. However, men MLAs outnumber the women by 356, while the latter form roughly 12 per cent of the Assembly. In Manipur, the number of women MLAs has increased from two in 2017 to five in 2022.

In Goa, Delilah Lobo, Jenifer Monserrate and Dr Deviya Rane are the only women MLAs. The last Goa Assembly, on the other hand, had only two women MLAs– Monserrate being one of them. Uttarakhand now has eight women MLAs, in contrast to five in the 2017 Assembly.