Nearly half of the sitting legislators in poll-bound West Bengal have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which analysed affidavits submitted by current MLAs.
Assembly elections in the state will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.
The ADR report examined the self-sworn affidavits of 291 of the 294 sitting MLAs. It found that 136 legislators, or 47%, have declared criminal cases against themselves, while 109 MLAs, or 37%, face serious criminal charges.
Among them, eight sitting MLAs have declared cases related to murder, while 29 have disclosed cases involving attempt to murder. In addition, 22 legislators have reported cases related to crimes against women, including one MLA who has declared a case related to rape.
The analysis also highlighted party-wise trends. In the ruling All India Trinamool Congress, 92 out of 223 MLAs analysed, or 41%, have declared criminal cases. In comparison, 42 of the 64 MLAs from the Bharatiya Janata Party—about 66%—have reported criminal cases in their affidavits.
The report further noted that more than half of the sitting MLAs are crorepatis. A total of 152 MLAs, or 52%, have declared assets worth over ₹1 crore. The combined assets of the 291 MLAs analysed amount to ₹821.5 crore, with the average asset per MLA standing at ₹2.82 crore.
Among parties, the average assets of the 223 MLAs from the Trinamool Congress stand at ₹3.27 crore, while the 64 BJP MLAs have average assets of ₹1.07 crore. One MLA from the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha has declared assets worth ₹18.23 crore.
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In terms of educational qualifications, 104 MLAs (36%) have declared their education level between Class 8 and Class 12, while 182 legislators (63%) reported qualifications of graduate or above.
The report also shows that 124 MLAs (43%) fall in the 25–50 age group, while 167 legislators (57%) are aged between 51 and 70 years.
Women remain underrepresented among the state’s lawmakers. Of the 291 MLAs analysed, only 45—or about 15%—are women, the ADR report said.
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