12% of sitting MPs of Rajya Sabha billionaires; AP, Telangana dominates list: ADR

Twenty-seven Rajya Sabha MPs are billionaires, with Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra topping the list with these states alone sending 11 of them.

The richest among them is TRS MP Bandi Partha Saradhi with Rs 5,300.21 crore followed by YSR Congress’ Ayodhya Rami Reddy with Rs 2,577.75 crore and SP’s Jaya Bachchan with Rs 1,001.63 crore.

In contrast, AAP’s Balbir Singh is the poorest with Rs 3.79 lakh assets followed by BJP’s Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba with Rs 5.48 lakh and AAP’s Sanjay Singh with Rs 6.60 lakh assets.

The average assets of Rajya Sabha MP is Rs 80.93 crore, according to the analysis of election affidavits of 225 of the 233 MPs, who are elected and nominated to the House, by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

It also showed that BJP (6 out of 85 analysed), Congress (4 out of 31) and YSR Congress (4 out of 9) have the highest number of billionaire MPs in Rajya Sabha.

Among the parties, 3 out of 10 AAP MPs, 3 out of 7 from TRS and 2 out of 6 from RJD have declared assets valued at more than Rs 100 crore.

When it comes to states, Bihar, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat with two each MPs follow Andhra, Telangana and Maharashtra in states with more billionaire lawmakers in the Upper House.

The total assets of seven MPs from Telangana are Rs 5,596 crore while that of 11 MPs from Andhra Pradesh is Rs 3,823 crore and 30 MPs analysed from Uttar Pradesh have total assets worth Rs 1,941 crore.

There are 84 MPs who have assets worth over Rs 10 crore while 33 have assets worth Rs 5-10 crore, 77 with assets worth Rs 1-5 crore, 23 with assets worth Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore and eight MPs with assets less than Rs 20 lakh.

When it comes to criminal records, 41 MPs have declared serious criminal cases, including two who have declared cases related to murder. Four Rajya Sabha MPs have declared cases related to crimes against women, including one MP who has declared rape charges against him.