Around 24% of the sitting MLAs in the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly have declared criminal cases against themselves while 13% of them have serious criminal charges in the state, according to a latest report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Out of the 88 sitting MLAs analysed by the ADR, as many as 18 MLAs from Congress and three BJP have declared criminal cases against themselves with 11 of them having serious criminal cases while one has declared cases related to attempt to murder.

The ADR report also reveals that the average asset of each sitting MLA is Rs 10.5 crore with 71 Congress MLAs having an average asset of Rs 11.51 crore, and 14 BJP legislators is Rs 6.71 crore and two BSP MLAs is Rs 2.04 crore and one JCC (J) MLA having an asset of Rs 8.3 crore.

With assets worth over Rs 500 crore, deputy chief minister T S Singhdeo is the richest MLA. Rajim MLA Amitesh Shukla holds the second-highest declared assets at Rs 74 crore followed by BJP MLA Saurabh Singh Thakur from Akaltara declared assets worth Rs 27 crore.

In contrast, the ADR report states that three Congress MLAs are on the list of three legislators having lowest assets. With a total asset value of Rs 30,000, Congress MLA Ram Kumar Yadav from Chandrapur seat is the poorest MLA in Chhattisgarh folllowed Shakuntala Sahu from Kasdol constituency having assets worth Rs 5 lakh.

Additionally, the ADR report also sheds light on the educational qualifications of the MLAs. 27 MLAs declared their educational qualifications to be below the 5th standard. Moreover, 59 MLAs have declared having a graduate-level education while two MLAs have declared themselves just literates.

The data has been extracted based on the affidavits submitted by the candidates prior to the 2018 assembly elections and by-elections conducted thereafter and the analysis is done on 88 seats out of 90 with two remaining Baloda Bazar and Vaishali Nagar seats vacant. Baloda Bazar MLA Pramod Sharma from Chhattisgarh Janta Congress (Jogi) and BJP MLA Vidyaratan Bhasin from Vaishali Nagar were not taken into account due to Bhasin’s death and Sharme resigning from Vidhan Sabha as well as the party.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Chhattisgarh Election Watch have released a report stating that Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister T S Singhdeo is the richest MLA in the state, with assets worth over Rs 500 crore. The report also reveals that 24% of legislators have declared criminal cases against themselves, with 13% facing serious charges. The average asset per MLA is Rs 10.5 crore, with 65 out of 88 sitting MLAs being crorepatis. Additionally, 21 MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves, including cases related to attempt to murder.

The Congress party is considering dropping around 20-25 sitting MLAs for the upcoming Chhattisgarh elections due to negative prospects. However, finding suitable replacements for such a large number of legislators may be challenging. Multiple surveys commissioned by the party have identified these MLAs as facing negative responses. The party leader, CM Bhupesh Baghel, has given his approval for any move that strategically benefits the party. The AICC central election committee meeting on Chhattisgarh seats was inconclusive. Congress is confident of returning to power after the Baghel government's five-year term.

Five legislators in Mizoram have submitted their resignations ahead of the state assembly elections. The legislators, who had contested the previous elections as Independents due to their party not being registered with the Election Commission at the time, now need to resign as they are contesting the upcoming polls as members of a registered party. The Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) has confirmed that these five MLAs will be contesting the elections on the party's ticket.