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The total assets of the winning candidates stood at Rs 2,192.93 crore, up from over Rs 1,100 crore in 2020
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Bihar Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 243 winning candidates in the Bihar 2025 assembly polls. Representational pic
The average wealth of those making it to the Bihar assembly has doubled since 2020—from Rs 4.32 crore in 2020 to Rs 9.02 crore in 2025—a new report released on Saturday said. The total assets of the winning candidates stood at Rs 2,192.93 crore, up from over Rs 1,100 crore in 2020.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Bihar Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 243 winning candidates in the Bihar 2025 assembly polls.
When compared to 2010 and 2015, the jump is even higher. The average assets of Bihar MLAs stood at just Rs 82 lakh in 2010.
The report noted that of the 243 MLAs, 218 (90%) are crorepatis, up from 194 (81%) in 2020. In 2010, just 20% of the MLAs were crorepatis. Since 2010, there has been a significant jump in crorepati MLAs in the House—from 45 in 2010 to 162 in 2015 and 218 now.
Wealth of 111 re-elected MLAs up by 53% in five years
A total of 111 MLAs were re-elected in the Bihar assembly results announced on Friday, with the average assets of these leaders climbing from Rs 4.88 crore in 2020 to Rs 7.46 crore in 2025. A total of 111 MLAs out of 243 were re-elected in 2025, with 55 from the BJP alone and 53 from JD(U).
The report said that the growth in average assets of re-elected MLAs is Rs 2.58 crores, by 53%.
The jump in the average increase in wealth is significantly above the state’s inflation and income growth rates, signalling deepening financial consolidation among sitting MLAs.
Biggest personal wealth jumps
The biggest jump was reported in the wealth of Siddharth Saurav, who switched sides between the Congress and the BJP between 2020 and 2025. The Bikram MLA had assets worth Rs 3.58 crore when he was elected in 2020, but this jumped to Rs 43.72 crore in 2025.
The wealth of Murari Prasad Gautam, who switched between the Congress and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), has increased from Rs 17.66 lakh to Rs 3.43 crore in five years.
The Rs 100-crore group
At least two MLAs in the House had wealth of over Rs 100 crore. BJP’s Kumar Pranay from Munger is the richest among the MLAs with wealth over Rs 170 crore.
JD(U)’s Anant Kumar Singh from Mokama is the second richest in the House with wealth over Rs 100 crore. His assets in 2020 were worth Rs 68.56 crore—a jump of Rs 32 crore. A total of 55 MLAs have wealth over Rs 10 crore.
The analysis also shows that even as the BJP is the largest party in terms of MLAs, the JD(U) has the highest number of richest MLAs at 78. A total of 77 of BJP’s 89 MLAs are crorepatis.
Only a handful below Rs 1 crore
In the House of 243, only 25 MLAs had wealth below Rs one crore, and only 13 had wealth below Rs 50 lakh.
The MLAs with the lowest assets were also from the BJP—Murari Pasavan from Pirpainti with wealth of Rs 6.53 lakh. Next is Mahesh Paswan, BJP MLA from Agiaon, with assets worth Rs 8.55 lakh.
The steady rise in both the number of crorepati MLAs and the scale of personal assets since 2010 shows that wealth remains one of the strongest predictors of electoral success in Bihar—a pattern that has only intensified in 2025.
Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived…Read More
Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived… Read More
November 15, 2025, 19:09 IST
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