India's Richest CM Chandrababu Naidu; Mamata Banerjee Poorest: ADR Study

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is the richest chief minister in India, with assets totaling over Rs 931 crore, the Association for Democratic Reforms said in a report released on Monday. In contrast, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the poorest, with assets amounting to just Rs 15 lakh.

The report also revealed that the average assets of chief ministers from state assemblies and union territories is Rs 52.6 crore. The total assets of 31 chief ministers are worth Rs 1,630 crore.

While India's per-capita net national income was approximately Rs 1.86 lakh for 2023-24, the average self-income of a chief minister is Rs 13.6 lakh, around 7.3 times the average per-capita income of India.

Arunachal Pradesh's Pema Khandu is the second richest chief minister with total assets worth over Rs 332 crore, Karnataka's Siddaramaiah is the third on the list with assets worth more than Rs 51 crore.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, with assets worth Rs 55 lakh, is the second poorest in the list and Pinarayi Vijayan is third with Rs 1.18 crore.

Khandu also has the highest liabilities to the tune of Rs 180 crore. Siddaramaiah has liabilities worth Rs 23 crore and Naidu more than Rs 10 crore, the report said.

It also said 13 (42%) chief ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves, while 10 (32%) have declared serious criminal cases, including those related to attempt murder, kidnapping, bribery, and criminal intimidation.

Out of the 31 chief ministers, only two are women, West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee and Delhi's Atishi.

(With PTI inputs)