Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other Details of Candidates and Analysis of Assets Comparison of Re-Contesting MLAs in the Kerala Assembly Election 2026
Summary and Highlights
TheAssociation for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Kerala Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 863 out of 883 candidates, who are contesting in the Kerala 2026 Assembly Elections. Out of 883 contesting candidates, 375 are from National parties, 81 are from State parties, 145 are from registered unrecognized parties and 282 candidates are contesting Independently.
Criminal Background
Candidates with Criminal Cases: Out of the 863 candidates analysed in Kerala Assembly elections 2026, 324 (38%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, out of 928 candidates analysed, 355 (38%) had declared criminal cases against themselves.
Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 201 (23%) have declared serious criminal cases. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, 167 (18%) candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
Party wise Candidates with Criminal Cases: Among the major parties,72 (85%) out of 85 candidates analysed from INC, 59 (63%) out of 93 candidates analysed from BJP, 51 (66%) out of 77 candidates analysed from CPI(M), 21 (84%) out of 25 candidates analysed from IUML, 13 (54%) out of 24 candidates analysed from CPI, 5 (42%) out of 12 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress (M), 6 (75%) out of 8 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress and 1 (100%) out of 1 candidate each analysed from NCP, Kerala Congress (B) and Kerala Congress (Jacob) have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
Party wise Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: Among the major parties,60 (71%) out of 85 candidates analysed from INC, 39 (42%) out of 93 candidates analysed from BJP, 21 (27%) out of 77 candidates analysed from CPI(M), 13 (52%) out of 25 candidates analysed from IUML, 2 (8%) out of 24 candidates analysed from CPI, 2 (17%) out of 12 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress (M), 4 (50%) out of 8 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress and 1 (100%) out of 1 candidate each analysed from NCP, Kerala Congress (B) and Kerala Congress (Jacob) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
Candidates with declared cases related to crime against women: 15 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. Out of 15 candidates 1 candidate has declared case related to person committing rape repeatedly on the same woman (IPC Section- 376(2)(n)).
Candidates with declared cases related to murder: 4 candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section-302) against themselves.
Candidates with declared cases related to attempt to murder: 13 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section-307) and (BNS Section-109) against themselves.
The directions of the Supreme Court have had no effect on the political parties in selection of candidates in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 as they have again followed their old practice of giving tickets to around 38% candidates with criminal cases. All major parties contesting in Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 have given tickets from 42% to 100% candidates who have declared criminal cases against themselves. The Supreme Court in its directions dated 13th February, 2020 had specifically instructed political parties to give reasons for such selection and why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates. As per these mandatory guidelines, the reasons for such selection has to be with reference to qualifications, achievements and merit of the candidate concerned. During the recent 2 State Assembly elections held in 2025, it was observed that political parties gave unfounded and baseless reasons like popularity of the person, does good social work, cases are politically motivated etc. These are not sound and cogent reasons for fielding candidates with tainted backgrounds. This data clearly shows that political parties have no interest in reforming the electoral system and our democracy will continue to suffer at the hands of lawbreakers who become lawmakers.
Financial Background
Share of wealth among candidates: The share of wealth amongst the candidates contesting in the Kerala assembly elections 2026 is as follows:
| Value of assets (Rs.) | Number of candidates | Percentage of Candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Rs. 5 crores and above | 91 | 10.5% |
| Rs. 2 crores to Rs. 5 crores | 101 | 11.7% |
| Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 2 crores | 307 | 35.6% |
| Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 50 lakhs | 192 | 22.2% |
| Less than Rs. 10 lakhs | 172 | 19.9% |
Crorepati Candidates: Out of the 863 candidates analysed, 339 (39%) are crorepatis. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, out of 928 candidates, 249 (27%) were crorepatis.
Party wise Crorepati Candidates:The role of money power in our elections is evident from the fact that all major political parties give tickets to wealthy candidates. Among the major parties 61 (72%) out of 85 candidates analysed from INC, 52 (56%) out of 93 candidates analysed from BJP, 52 (68%) out of 77 candidates analysed from CPI(M), 21 (84%) out of 25 candidates analysed from IUML, 12 (50%) out of 24 candidates analysed from CPI, 11 (92%) out of 12 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress (M), 8 (100%) out of 8 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress, 2 (67%) out of 3 candidates analysed from NCP (SP), 1 (100%) out of 1 candidate analysed from Kerala Congress (B) and 1 (100%) out of 1 candidate analysed from Kerala Congress (Jacob) have declared assets valued more than Rs 1 crore.
Total assets of candidates: The total assets of 863 analysed candidates are Rs. 2,403 Crores.
Average assets: The average of assets per candidate contesting in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 is Rs 2.78 Crores. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, average assets per candidate for 928 Candidates was Rs. 1.69 Crores.
Party wise average assets: Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 93 BJP candidates analysed is Rs. 5.70 Crores, 85 INC candidates analysed is Rs 3.93 Crores, 77 CPI(M) candidates have average assets of Rs 2.32 Crores, 25 IUML candidates have average assets of Rs 6.64 Crores, 24 CPI candidates have average assets of Rs 1.60 Crores, 12 Kerala Congress (M) candidates have average assets of Rs 10.44 Crores, 8 Kerala Congress candidates have average assets of Rs 39.64 Crores and 3 NCP(SP) candidates have average assets worth Rs 3.14 Crores.
Other Background Details
Education details of candidates: 414 (48%) candidates have declared their educational qualifications to be between 5th and 12th standard while 397 (46%) candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above. 44 candidates are Diploma holders. 7 candidates have declared themselves to be just literate and 1 candidate is Illiterate.
Age details of candidates: 140(16%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 40 years while 497 (58%) candidates have declared their age to be between 41 to 60 years. There are 224 (26%) candidates who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years. There are 2 candidates who have declared their age to be above 80 years.
Gender details of candidates: 92 (11%) female candidates are contesting in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, 103 (11%) out of 928 candidates analysed were women.
Analysis of Assets Comparison of Re-Contesting MLAs
- Number of re-contesting MLAs: Number of re-contesting MLAs analysed in the Kerala assembly elections of 2026 is 104.
- Average Assets in 2021 Elections: The average assets of these 104 re-contesting MLAs fielded by various parties including independents in 2021 was Rs 3.56 Crores.
- Average Assets in 2026 Elections: The average asset of these 104 re-contesting MLAs in 2026 is Rs 4.30 Crores.
- Average Asset growth in 5 years (2021-2026): The average asset growth for these 104 re- contesting MLAs, between the Kerala Assembly Elections of 2021 and 2026 is Rs 74.36 Lacs.
- Percentage growth in 5 years (2021-2026): Average percentage growth in assets for these 104 re-contesting MLAs is 21%.