Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of Winning Candidates in Kerala Assembly Election 2026
Summary and Highlights
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Kerala Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 135 out of 140 winning candidates in the Kerala 2026 Assembly Elections.
Criminal Background
Winning Candidates with Criminal Cases: Out of the 135 winning candidates analysed in 2026, 114 (84%) winning candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. Out of 136 MLAs analysed during Kerala Assembly elections in 2021, 96 (71%) MLAs had declared criminal cases against themselves.
Winning Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 77 (57%) winning candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. Out of 136 MLAs analysed during Kerala Assembly elections in 2021, 37 (27%) MLAs had declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
Winning Candidates with Declared Cases Related to Murder: 1 winning candidate has declared case related to murder (IPC Section-302) against himself.
Winning Candidates with Declared Cases Related to Attempt to Murder: 1 winning candidate has declared case related to Attempt to murder (IPC Section-307) against himself.
Winning Candidates with Declared Cases Related to Crime Against Women: 3 winning candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. Out of 3 winning candidates, 1 winning candidate has declared case related to person committing rape repeatedly on the same woman (IPC Section- 376(2)(n)).
Party Wise Winning Candidates with Criminal Cases: 53 (90%) out of 59 winning candidates from INC, 20 (77%) out of 26 winning candidates from CPI(M), 20 (91%) out of 22 winning candidates from IUML, 5 (63%) out of 8 winning candidates from CPI, 6 (86%) out of 7 winning candidates from Kerala Congress, 3 (100%) out of 3 winning candidates from BJP, 3 (100%) out of 3 winning candidates from Revolutionary Socialist Party, 1 (100%) out of 1 winning candidate from Kerala Congress (Jacob), 1 (100%) out of 1 winning candidate from Revolutionary Marxist Party of India and 2 (50%) out of 4 Independent winning candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
Party Wise Winning Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 44 (75%) out of 59 winning candidates from INC, 10 (38%) out of 26 winning candidates from CPI(M), 12 (55%) out of 22 winning candidates from IUML, 4 (57%) out of 7 winning candidates from Kerala Congress, 2 (67%) out of 3 winning candidates from BJP, 3 (100%) out of 3 winning candidates from Revolutionary Socialist Party, 1 (100%) out of 1 winning candidate from Kerala Congress (Jacob) and 1 (100%) out of 1 winning candidate from Revolutionary Marxist Party of India have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
Financial Background
Crorepati Winning Candidates: Out of the 135 winning candidates analysed, 93 (69%) are crorepatis. Out of 136 MLAs analysed during Kerala assembly elections 2021, 75 (55%) MLAs were crorepati.
Party-wise crorepati winning candidates: 40 (68%) out of 59 winning candidates from INC, 19 (86%) out of 22 winning candidates from IUML, 14 (54%) out of 26 winning candidates from CPI(M), 7 (100%) out of 7 winning candidates from Kerala Congress, 4 (50%) out of 8 winning candidates from CPI, 2 (67%) out of 3 winning candidates from Revolutionary Socialist Party, 2 (67%) out of 3 winning candidates from BJP, 1 (100%) out of 1 winning candidate from RJD, 1 (100%) out of 1 winning candidate from Kerala Congress (Jacob) and 3 (75%) out of 4 Independent winning candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.
Total Assets of Winning Candidates: The total assets of 135 winning candidates are Rs. 937 Crores.
Average Assets: The average of assets per winning candidates analysed in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 is Rs 6.94 Crores. The average of assets per MLA in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2021 was Rs 3.12 crore.
Party Wise Average Assets: The average assets per winning candidate for 59 INC winning candidates is Rs 3.79 Crores, 26 CPI(M) winning candidates have average assets of Rs 1.28 Crores, 22 IUML Winning candidates have average assets worth Rs 7.29 Crores, 8 CPI Winning candidates have average assets worth Rs 1.16 Crores, 7 Kerala Congress Winning candidates have average assets worth Rs 45.18 Crores, 3 BJP Winning candidates have average assets worth Rs 38.08 Crores, 3 Revolutionary Socialist Party Winning candidates have average assets worth Rs 8.76 Crores and 4 Independent Winning candidates have average assets of Rs. 6.99 crore.
Other Background Details
Education Details of Winning Candidates: 31 (23%) winning candidates have declared their educational qualification between 8th pass and 12th pass while 98 (73%) winning candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate and above. 5 winning candidates are Diploma holders and 1 winning candidate has declared himself to be literate.
Age Details of Winning Candidates: 15(11%) winning candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 40 years while 79 (59%) winning candidates have declared their age to be between 41 and 60 years. There are 40 (30%) winning candidates who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years. One winning candidate has declared his age as 82 years.
Gender Details of Winning Candidates: Out of 135 winning candidates analysed, 9 (7%) winning candidates are women. In 2021, out of 136 MLAs analysed, 11 (8%) MLAs were women.
Analysis of Assets Comparison of Re-Elected MLAs
- Number of Re-Elected MLAs:Number of re-elected MLAs analysed in the Kerala assembly elections of 2026 is 55.
- Average Assets of Re-Elected MLAs in 2021: The average assets of re-elected MLAs in 2021 was Rs 3.18 crore.
- Average Assets of Re-Elected MLAs in 2026:The average assets of re-elected MLAs in 2026 is Rs 3.84 crores.
- Average Growth in Assets of Re-Elected MLAs from 2021 to 2026:The growth in average assets of re-elected MLAs is Rs 65.18 Lakhs i.e. by 20%.
