New Rajya Sabha MPs collectively worth over Rs 4,600 crore, shows data

Figure ten times Election Commission's budget for 2023-24

The majority of states have elected Rajya Sabha members who are richer than before, with the total value of the assets of the new Members of Parliament (MPs) collectively worth more than Rs 4,600 crore.

The average assets of Rajya Sabha members in 2024 are higher in 10 of the 15 states with new MPs. (Chart 1)

The average assets are the highest in Uttar Pradesh (Rs 225 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 201 crore). The average MP is worth more than Rs 1 crore in each of the 15 states.

The median numbers show a similar trend, with the average MPs in each state worth at least Rs 1 crore. Andhra Pradesh tops the list with median assets of Rs 118 crore. Uttar Pradesh numbers are skewed by a few rich individuals.

The richest newly elected MP is from Uttar Pradesh (Jaya Bachchan with Rs 1578.9 crore). The others in the top five include Meda Raghunadha Reddy, Naveen Jain, Prafulbhai Manoharbhai Patel, and Govindbhai Laljibhai Dholakia. They are worth between Rs 270 crore and Rs 480 crore. (Chart 2)

Four of the bottom five MPs are worth Rs 1 crore. West Bengal’s Balyogi Umeshnath is the poorest, worth Rs 50 lakh. (Chart 3)

The total value of the assets of the 55 MPs is Rs 4,658 crore. This excludes data for Karnataka’s GC Chandrashekar for whom the information was not available. To put things into perspective, the Election Commission’s spending for 2023-24 was Rs 466.04 crore, according to the revised figures in the Union Budget.

The average assets of the winning candidates in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections is Rs 84.7 crore, an increase of 23 per cent since 2018.

In 2018, the average assets of the sitting MPs from the same 15 states was Rs 68.9 crore, according to data from the Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Voters tend to disapprove of wealth accumulation in office and associate it with corruption and political violence, according to a 2019 study entitled, ‘Getting Rich Too Fast? Voters’ Reactions to Politicians’ Wealth Accumulation,’ from authors including Leiden University’s Simon Chauchard, Georgetown University’s Marko Klašnja, and SP Harish from the College of William and Mary. The authors noted that such politicians do continue to win elections.

“Voters generally lack information about disclosures and many weigh wealth accumulation less than other prominent concerns, such as performance in office or caste-based appeals,” it said.

The very wealthy are more likely to run for office across the world, noted another 2023 study titled, ‘Billionaire Politicians: A Global Perspective’ from Northwestern University authors Daniel Krcmaric, Stephen C. Nelson, and Andrew Roberts.

The study examined 2,000 billionaires and found that 11 per cent stood for office. This is higher than most other groups.

“Moreover, billionaires focus their political ambitions on influential positions, have a strong track record of winning elections, and lean to the right ideologically. We also document substantial cross-national variation: a country’s number of billionaire politicians is not simply a product of its total number of billionaires, but is instead related to the regime type. Specifically, billionaires formally enter the political sphere at a much higher rate in autocracies than in democracies,” it said.