Hyderabad: As the Telangana Assembly polls approach, it is important to know the prevalence of rich MLAs within the political parties of the state.
A report by Telangana Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) which was released after analysing the self-sworn affidavits of all MLAs who were elected in the Telangana Assembly polls 2018 revealed that out of 119 MLAs, 106 were crorepatis. This implies that approximately 89% of all elected MLAs were wealthy individuals.
Party wise crorepati MLAs
The report also revealed that among the 88 MLAs belonging to the TRS (now BRS) party, 83 were crorepati candidates. This indicates that the majority of the BRS MLAs elected in 2018 came from affluent backgrounds.
In the case of the Indian National Congress (INC), out of the 19 INC MLAs elected in 2018, 14 were crorepati candidates. Though the percentage is relatively lower compared to the BRS, it still signifies a significant presence of wealthy individuals within the party.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which plays a significant role in Telangana politics, has seven MLAs in the state. Among them, five were crorepati at the time of the 2018 Assembly polls.
Out of the total 119 candidates, Kometireddy Rajgopal Reddy, who contested the 2018 Assembly polls on a Congress ticket from the Munugode Constituency, has emerged as the richest MLA. At that time, his total assets was over 314 crore. On the other hand, Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri, an AIMIM MLA from Yakutpura, had the lowest assets, totaling slightly over 19 lakh.
Following is the list of the top 10 MLAs with the highest assets (as declared in self-sworn affidavits 2018 assembly polls)
- Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy (Rs. 314 crore+)
- Marri Janardhan Reddy (Rs. 161 crore+)
- Kandala Upender Reddy (Rs. 91 crore+)
- Pailla Shekar Reddy (Rs. 91 crore+)
- S. Rajender Reddy (Rs. 66 crore+)
- Arekapudi Gandhi (Rs. 62 crore+)
- Ch. Malla Reddy (Rs. 49 crore+)
- Eatala Rajendar (Rs. 42 crore+)
- Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy (Rs. 41 crore+)
- Kalvakuntla taraka Rama Rao (Rs. 41 crore+)
Following is the list of the top 10 MLAs with the lowest assets (as declared in self-sworn affidavits 2018 assembly polls)
- Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri (Rs. 19 lakh+)
- Ravi Shankar Sunke (Rs. 20 lakh+)
- Athram Sakku (Rs. 27 lakh+)
- Mecha Nageswara Rao (Rs. 32 lakh+)
- Kale Yadaiah (Rs. 37 lakh+)
- Rega Kantharao (Rs. 43 lakh+)
- Anasuya Dansari (Rs. 50 lakh+)
- Kausar Mohiuddin (Rs. 58 lakh+)
- Chirumarthi Lingaiah (Rs. 67 lakh+)
- Koneru Konappa (Rs. 75 lakh+)
Telangana Assembly polls
Telangana Assembly polls for 119 constituency seats are scheduled to take place at the end of this year.
In the previous assembly polls, the main parties involved were the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the Indian National Congress (INC), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Following the polls, the TRS, now known as the BRS, formed the government after securing victory in 88 out of the 119 seats, marking a significant increase in its seat share by 25.
In contrast, the INC’s seat share decreased from 21 to 19, while the AIMIM managed to win seven seats.
Despite the BJP’s efforts to form a government, they could only secure a single seat, with Raja Singh winning the Goshamahal Assembly constituency seat. The party’s seat share dropped from five to one.
