A record 170 crorepati MLAs have been newly elected in Tamil Nadu, making it the richest-ever Assembly in the state. This means that as much as 76% of the total members of the Assembly are crorepatis. Three MLAs, including J Jayalalithaa who will be sworn in as chief minister on May 23, have declared assets of more than Rs 100 crore. Congress MLA H Vasanthkumar has assets worth Rs 337 crore, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLA MK Mohan is worth Rs 170 crore, The Times of India reported.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly is the only one among the four states that recently went to polls to have members whose assets are worth more than Rs 100 crore. The average value of legislators' assets in the state comes to Rs 8.1 crore, the highest among the states where Assembly elections were just held.
Besides Tamil Nadu, 83% of the 30-member Assembly of the Union Territory of Puducherry are also crorepatis. There is an elected member worth more than Rs 100 crore in the Puducherry Assembly too. In Assam, 57% of MLAs are crorepatis; 34% of West Bengal Assembly members are crorepatis; and 44% of Kerala's legislators are crorepatis, PTI reported. A survey by the Association for Democratic Reforms found that 428 MLAs, or nearly half the elected Assembly members in the recently concluded elections, are crorepatis.
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