New Delhi: Every third legislator in the newly elected assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal has self-declared criminal cases pending against him or her.

This was revealed by the analysis of the affidavits filed by the 812 new Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLA) of these states.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW), a nationwide campaign comprising of more than 1,200 NGOs and other citizen led organizations, carried out the analysis.

The groups campaign for electoral reforms and improving democracy and governance in India.

The analysis excluded two constituencies in Tamil Nadu where the polling was postponed by the Election Commission of India and nine legislators whose affidavits were badly scanned. One member in West Bengal was not analyzed because of illegal affidavit.

At the time of nomination, as many as 36 percent legislators (294) had declared that they have pending criminal cases. Among them 176 (21.67 percent) face serious cases such as murder or attempts to murder.

Kerala tops the list as 62 percent of its 140 legislators face criminal cases. The southern Indian state changed the government, electing 91 members from the Marxist-led Left Democratic Front in the election held on May 16. The Congress-led United Democratic Front managed to score only 47 seats. The state also opened its door to the Bharatiya Janata Party that heads the federal coalition government for the first time.

West Bengal came second with 32 percent legislators with serious criminal records. The All India Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee created history as the first party to win election without an ally since 1962 in that eastern Indian state. The party was voted back to power with an enhanced majority.

The Indian government acknowledges that 21.9 percent of its population is below its official poverty limit. India houses one fifth of the world’s poorest people. However, more than half the new legislators have more millions of rupees at their disposal. A total of 428 legislators (53 percent) are crorepatis, a term used for people with more than 10 million rupees. Puducherry tops the list of millionaires with 83 percent, followed by Tamil Nadu, 76 percent.

It is in contrast to the World Bank’s 2011 estimate that 23.6 percent of Indian survived with less than 100 rupees daily.

The new legislators may be raking in money, but not all see the need for paying taxes. As many as 23 percent new legislators have declared that they have never filed Income Tax Returns.

Kerala tops the list of such legislators. As many as 60 percent of legislators have not filed income tax so far, followed by West Bengal with 20 percent.

Personal Account Number is mandatory for financial transactions in India, but 49 of the new legislators have not given their numbers in the affidavit.

Puducherry has the highest average assets (134.5 million rupees) among legislators, followed by Tamil Nadu with 82.1 million and Kerala 28.2 million.

India wants women given adequate representation in decision making bodies, with some suggesting 33 percent in assemblies and parliament. However, women form only 9 percent of the new legislators. West Bengal tops the list with 40, followed by Puducherry 4.

Gone are the days when Indian law makers were “angoota chhaps” (those signing with thumb impression). As many as 59 percent new legislators are graduates, 19 with doctorate. West Bengal, which is the cultural state of India, tops the list with 10 PhDs, followed by Tamil Nadu, 5.

India may be a land of young people, but only 11 percent of the new legislators are below 40 years. Five of them are above 80, two in early 90s.

(For full reports on each state, please visit our website www.adrindia.org)