About 70 per cent of sitting MLAs in Kerala have declared criminal cases against themselves, while more than half are crorepatis, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Kerala Election Watch.
The report analysed affidavits of 132 MLAs and found that 92 of them face pending criminal cases. Of these, 33 legislators (25%) have serious charges, including offences such as murder and attempt to murder. Two MLAs have declared cases under Section 302 (murder), while three face charges under Section 307 (attempt to murder). Three MLAs have also reported cases related to crimes against women, including one involving rape.
The prevalence of criminal cases cuts across party lines. The CPI(M) has 43 out of 58 MLAs (74%) facing such cases, while the Congress has 19 out of 21 MLAs (90%). The CPI stands at 44%, and the IUML at 86%.
On the financial side, 72 MLAs (55%) have declared assets exceeding Rs1 crore. The combined assets of all MLAs total Rs 363.78 crore, with an average of Rs 2.75 crore per legislator. All MLAs from Kerala Congress (M), JD(S), NCP and Kerala Congress have assets above Rs 1 crore. Among major parties, 86% of IUML MLAs are crorepatis, followed by Congress (62%) and CPI(M) (40%).
Mathew Kuzhalnadan of the Congress is the richest MLA, with assets of over Rs 34 crore. He is followed by Independent MLA Mani C Kappen (over Rs 27 crore) and K B Ganesh Kumar of Kerala Congress (B) (over Rs 19 crore). At the other end, CPI(M) MLA P P Sumod has declared assets of about Rs 9.9 lakh.
In terms of education, 61% of MLAs are graduates or above, while 36% have studied between Class 5 and 12. Women remain underrepresented, making up just 8% (11 MLAs) of the Assembly.
The age profile shows that 70% of MLAs are between 51 and 80 years old, while the remaining 30% fall in the 25–50 age group.