65% of newly elected Bengal MLAs face criminal cases; 61% are ‘crorepatis’: ADR

According to a report by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 65 per cent of newly elected legislators in the West Bengal Assembly have criminal cases filed against them; This marks a sharp increase compared to the previous election.

The report, which analyzed the statements of all 292 winning candidates in the 2026 Assembly polls, revealed that the number of those declaring criminal cases was 190 MLAs (65%), as against 142 (49%) in 2021. Of these, 170 legislators (58%) are facing serious criminal charges, compared to 113 (39%) in the previous House.

Among serious crimes, 14 winning candidates have filed murder-related cases (IPC Section 302), while 54 have been charged with attempted murder. Cases related to crimes against women were announced by 63 winners, including two candidates who announced rape accusations.

A party-wise analysis showed that 152 out of 206 winning candidates (74%) from the Bharatiya Janata Party filed criminal cases, followed by 34 out of 80 candidates (43%) from the All India Trinamool Congress.

Winning candidates from minor parties such as Aam Janata Unnayan Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and All India Secular Front have all filed criminal cases. In contrast, both the winning candidates of the Indian National Congress do not have any criminal cases.

This trend is similar in serious criminal cases; 68% of BJP winners and 31% of Trinamool Congress winners face such cases.

The ADR report also highlighted increasing wealth among elected representatives. Of the 292 winners, 178 (61%) are crorepatis; This is up from 54% in 2021. The total declared assets of all the winning candidates were declared at ₹1,091 crore, with an average of ₹3.73 crore per MLA, significantly higher than the ₹2.53 crore recorded in the previous Assembly.

Among major parties, the average assets of TMC MLAs is ₹ 5.36 crore, followed by BJP legislators with ₹ 2.97 crore. The two Congress MLAs overall reported the highest average assets at ₹17.92 crore.

In terms of educational qualifications, 63% of the winning candidates were graduates or above, while 32% had studied between Class 5 and Class 12. A small number of legislators reported minimal formal education, including one candidate who declared himself illiterate.

The age profile shows that the majority of MLAs (63%) fall in the age group of 41-60 years, while only 16% are between 25 and 40 years of age. Approximately 20% of MPs are between the ages of 61 and 80, and three candidates are over 80.

Women are under-represented, with only 37 (13%) of 292 MLAs being women, a slight decrease from 14% in 2021, the report said.

The ADR report highlighted persistent concerns about the criminalization of politics and the increasing concentration of wealth among elected representatives in one of India’s key states.