Manipur MP among poorest in Rajya Sabha: ADR Report

A king without a kingdom and a man of faith sit at the bottom of India's upper house wealth table, a new report on Rajya Sabha members has revealed — even as nearly a third of the chamber's sitting MPs carry declared criminal cases against their names.

Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba, the ceremonial monarch of Manipur who holds a BJP ticket and a Rajya Sabha seat, has declared assets of just around Rs 5 lakh, making him the second-poorest member of the house.

Only AAP's Sant Balbir Singh, a religious figure from Punjab, edges him out with declared assets of roughly Rs 3 lakh. TMC's Prakash Chik Baraik, with approximately Rs 9 lakh to his name, rounds out the three least wealthy MPs in the chamber.

The findings come from a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which examined self-declared affidavits submitted by 229 of 233 sitting Rajya Sabha MPs. One seat from Jharkhand remains vacant, and affidavits for three MPs could not be obtained.

The contrast at the top of the wealth table is stark. BRS MP Bandi Partha Saradhi leads the pack with declared assets exceeding Rs 5,300 crore, followed by AAP's Rajinder Gupta at over Rs 5,053 crore and YSRCP's Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy at over Rs 2,577 crore. In all, 31 MPs — 14 per cent of those surveyed — have declared assets running into the billions of rupees.

The average declared net worth of a Rajya Sabha MP stands at Rs 120.69 crore, though this figure masks wide variation across parties. AAP members average Rs 574.09 crore per MP, largely driven by its billionaire members, while YSRCP MPs average Rs 522.63 crore. At the other end, TMC MPs average Rs 17.70 crore and BJP MPs Rs 28.29 crore. Congress sits at Rs 128.61 crore per member on average.

On criminal cases, 73 MPs — 32 per cent of those analysed — have disclosed cases against themselves in their affidavits. Of these, 36 face what the ADR classifies as serious charges. One MP has declared a murder case, four have cases of attempt to murder, and three face charges related to crimes against women.

Party-wise, the BJP accounts for the largest absolute number, with 27 of its 99 MPs having declared criminal cases. Twelve of 28 Congress MPs have done so, as have four each from TMC's 13 members and AAP's 10 members. Three MPs each from CPI(M) and BRS, have also disclosed such cases.

The ADR report, which covers 37 recently elected members within the total analysed, offers one of the more detailed portraits of the financial and legal profiles of India's upper house.