Over A Third Of New Ministers In 5 States Have Criminal Cases: Data

33 of the 92 (or nearly 36%) of newly appointed ministers in the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana have criminal and serious criminal cases against them, an analysis of the nomination forms filed by them has revealed.

The states went to the polls in November last year and the results, declared on December 3, went largely in favour of the BJP, which won majorities in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Congress defeated the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana while the Zoram People's Movement, led by Lalduhoma, won 27 out of 40 seats in Mizoram.

The analysis also shows that, of the five states, Mizoram has the youngest ministers while Telangana has the richest.

Criminal Record

Of the 31 new ministers in Madhya Pradesh, 12 - or 39% - have criminal cases against them, and three of them are facing serious criminal cases - which are related to assault, murder, kidnap or rape. BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya is one of the three.

In Rajasthan, out of 25 ministers, 8 (32%) have criminal cases and four of them are named in serious criminal cases. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma also falls in the list of ministers with criminal cases.

Out of 12 ministers in Chhattisgarh, two (17%) are facing criminal or serious criminal cases. These are Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma and Finance Minister Om Prakash Chaudhary.

The figure is the same in Mizoram, where two of 12 ministers face such cases - Lalnghinglova Hmar, MLA from Aizawl West 2, and K Sapdanga from Aizawl North 3.

In terms of percentage, the figure is highest in Telangana, where 9 out of 12 ministers (75%) have declared criminal cases, with five (42%) declaring serious criminal cases. The list starts with the name of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who faces a staggering 89 cases.

Financial Background

In Madhya Pradesh, 30 out of 31 ministers are crorepatis, with average assets amounting to Rs 18.54 crore. The richest minister is Chetanya Kasyap from Ratlam City constituency, with assets worth Rs 296.08 crore, while the minister with the lowest declared wealth is Gotam Tetwal from Sarangpur (SC) constituency, with assets worth Rs 89.64 lakh.

In Rajasthan, all 25 ministers are crorepatis, with average assets amounting to Rs 7.08 crore. The richest minister is Gajendra Singh from Lohawat constituency with assets worth Rs 29.07 crore, while the minister with the lowest declared wealth is Babulal Kharadi from Jhadol (ST) constituency, with assets worth Rs 1.24 crore.

In Chhattisgarh, 11 out of 12 ministers are crorepatis, with average assets amounting to Rs 9.04 crore. The richest minister is Brijmohan Agarwal from Raipur City South constituency with assets worth Rs 17.49 crore, while the minister with the lowest declared wealth is Lakhanlal Devangan from Korba constituency with assets worth Rs 58.66 lakh.

In Mizoram, all 12 ministers are crorepatis, with average assets amounting to Rs 6.3 Crore. The richest minister is F. Rodingliana from Lengteng (ST) constituency with assets worth Rs. 22.28 crore, while the minister with the lowest declared wealth is C Lalsawivunga from Aizawl South-I (ST) constituency with assets worth Rs 1.29 crore.

In Telangana, 11 out of 12 ministers are crorepatis, with average assets amounting to Rs 50.91 crore. The richest minister is Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy from Palair constituency with assets worth Rs 433.93 crore, while the minister with the lowest declared total assets is Danasari Anasuya Seethakka from Mulug (ST) constituency with assets worth Rs 82.83 lakh.

Women In Ministry

Only 11 out of the 92 (12%) of the newly appointed ministers in the five states are women.

Madhya Pradesh tops the list with five (16%) of 31 ministers being women. In Rajasthan, two out of 25 ministers (8%) are women but one of them, Diya Kumari, is a deputy chief minister. Telangana has two out of 12 (17%) women ministers and Chhattisgarh and Mizoram have one out of 12 (8%) each.

Education And Age Of Ministers

Education-wise, the majority of ministers across the states have at least a graduate-level education, with Mizoram and Telangana both reporting 83% of ministers with such qualifications. In terms of age, a majority of ministers in the five states are between 51 and 70 years old. Mizoram, however, has the majority of its ministers (58%) from the 41-60 age group.