93% of Lok Sabha poll winners are millionaires: ADR analysis

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A staggering 93 percent of the candidates who won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are millionaires, up from 88 percent in 2019, according to an analysis by poll rights body Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The top three wealthiest candidates are TDP's Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani from Andhra Pradesh's Guntur constituency with assets worth Rs 5,705 crore, BJP's Konda Vishweshwar Reddy from Telangana's Chevella with total assets amounting to Rs 4,568 crore, and BJP's Naveen Jindal from Haryana's Kurukshetra with assets worth Rs 1,241 crore.

Out of the 543 winning candidates, 504 are millionaires, the analysis found.

In 2019, 475 (88 percent) winning candidates were millionaires and 443 (82 per cent) in 2014.

The trend indicates a steady climb since 2009 when only 315 (58 percent) MPs were millionaires.

According to the analysis, 227 (95 percent) of the BJP's 240 winning candidates, 92 (93 percent) of the Congress' 99, 21 (95 percent) of the DMK's 22, 27 (93 percent) of the TMC's 29 and 34 (92 percent) of the Samajwadi Party's 37 candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.

All winning candidates of the AAP (3), the JDU (12) and the TDP (16) are millionaires, ADR data showed.

The analysis also delves into candidate' chances of winning based on their financial backgrounds.

It found that the probability of a millionaire candidate clinching victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections stood at 19.6 percent, compared to a meagre 0.7 percent for candidates with assets less than a crore.

The analysis also provides a breakdown of wealth distribution among the winning candidates.

The data showed that 42 percent of the candidates possess assets totalling Rs 10 crore and above.

While 19 percent of the candidates fall within the bracket of Rs 5 to 10 crore, 32 percent hold assets ranging between Rs 1 and 5 crore.

Only about 1 percent of the winning candidates have assets worth less than Rs 20 lakh.

Among major parties, the average assets per winning candidate vary significantly.

The TDP leads with an average of Rs 442.26 crore per winner, followed by the BJP with Rs 50.04 crore, the DMK with Rs 31.22 crore, the Congress with Rs 22.93 crore, TMC with Rs 17.98 crore and SP with Rs 15.24 crore.

The analysis also highlights disparities within the financial profiles of winning candidates. While some boast of substantial assets, others have relatively low worth.

For instance, BJP's Jyotirmay Singh Mahato from West Bengal's Purulia has declared assets totalling a mere Rs 5 lakh. Similarly, TMC's Mitali Bag from West Bengal's Arambag holds assets worth Rs 7 lakh.

Assets of SP's Priya Saroj from Uttar Pradesh's Machhlishahr are valued at Rs 11 lakh.

In addition, the analysis identifies candidates with high liabilities.

TDP's Pemmasani tops the list with liabilities exceeding Rs 1,038 crore. DMK's S Jagathratchakan from Tamil Nadu's Arakkonam has liabilities worth Rs 649 crore and TDP's Prabhakar Reddy Vemireddy from Andhra Pradesh's Nellore has liabilities worth Rs 197 crore.