A report by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW), based on an analysis of affidavits filed by 31 chief ministers during the last elections, highlights key details about the wealth and demographics of India’s chief ministers. Released on Monday, the report identifies West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the poorest among her peers, with total assets worth ₹15.38 lakh.
Following Banerjee, J&K’s Omar Abdullah is the only other chief minister with assets under ₹1 crore, amounting to ₹55.24 lakh. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan ranks third from the bottom, with declared assets of ₹1.18 crore.
The report also reveals that the average assets per chief minister across State Assemblies and UTs amount to ₹52.59 crore. Comparing this to India’s per capita net national income of approximately ₹1,85,854 for the financial year 2023-24 (as per PIB), the average self-declared income of a chief minister, ₹13,64,310, is about 7.3 times higher.
Notably, there are two billionaire chief ministers: Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh, who leads the list with assets worth ₹931 crore, followed by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu with ₹332 crore. Collectively, the total assets of all 31 chief ministers analysed amount to ₹1,630 crore.
The report also highlights demographic details: West Bengal and Delhi are the only regions led by women chief ministers. Among them, Atishi is the youngest at 38 and the only CM under 40 years of age. Pinarayi Vijayan, at 77, is the oldest.
Regarding legal disclosures, 13 (42%) of the analysed chief ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves. Among these, 10 (32%) face serious criminal charges, including those related to attempted murder, kidnapping, bribery, and criminal intimidation.
