Last Updated on April 4, 2026 2:49 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Staff Reporter
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Kerala Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 863 out of 883 candidates contesting the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026, revealing that 38% of the candidates have declared criminal cases against them.
According to the report, 375 candidates belong to national parties, 81 are from state parties, 145 represent registered but unrecognised parties, while 282 candidates are contesting as Independents.
The study also includes an analysis comparing the assets of re-contesting MLAs who are seeking re-election in the 2026 Assembly polls.
| Party | Total Contesting Candidates | Total Contesting Candidates Analysed | Candidates with declared Criminal Cases | % of candidates with declared criminal cases | Candidates with declared serious criminal cases | % of candidates with declared serious criminal cases | No. of Crorepatis | Percentage of Crorepati Candidates |
| National Parties | 375 | 360 | 192 | 53% | 126 | 35% | 194 | 54% |
| State Parties | 81 | 80 | 48 | 60% | 23 | 29% | 57 | 71% |
| Registered Unrecognized Party | 145 | 142 | 46 | 32% | 33 | 23% | 37 | 26% |
| Independent | 282 | 281 | 38 | 14% | 19 | 7% | 51 | 18% |
| Total | 883 | 863 | 324 | 38% | 201 | 23% | 339 | 39% |
Table: Party Category Wise Details
Summary and Highlights
Criminal Background
- Candidates with Criminal Cases: Out of the 863 candidates analysed in Kerala Assembly elections 2026, 324(38%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. In the 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, out of 928 candidates analysed, 355(38%) had declared criminal cases against themselves.
- Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 201(23%) have declared serious criminal cases. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, 167 (18%) candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
Figure: Comparative analysis of Candidates with declared Criminal Cases: 2021 vs 2026
- Party wise Candidates with Criminal Cases: Among the major parties,72(85%)out of 85 candidates analysed from INC, 59(63%) out of 93 candidates analysed from BJP, 51(66%) out of 77 candidates analysed from CPI(M), 21(84%) out of 25 candidates analysed from IUML, 13(54%) out of 24 candidates analysed from CPI, 5(42%) out of 12 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress (M), 6(75%) out of 8 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress and 1 (100%) out of 1 candidate each analysed from NCP, Kerala Congress (B) and Kerala Congress (Jacob) have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
- Party wise Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases:Among the major parties,60(71%)out of 85 candidates analysed from INC, 39(42%) out of 93 candidates analysed from BJP, 21(27%) out of 77 candidates analysed from CPI(M), 13(52%) out of 25 candidates analysed from IUML, 2(8%) out of 24 candidates analysed from CPI, 2(17%) out of 12 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress (M), 4(50%) out of 8 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress and 1 (100%) out of 1 candidate each analysed from NCP, Kerala Congress (B) and Kerala Congress (Jacob) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
Figure: Party Wise Percentage of Candidates with Criminal Cases
- Candidates with declared cases related to crime against women: 15 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. Out of 15 candidates 1 candidate has declared case related to person committing rape repeatedly on the same woman (IPC Section- 376(2)(n)).
- Candidates with declared cases related to murder: 4 candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section-302) against themselves.
- Candidates with declared cases related to attempt to murder: 13 candidates have declared cases related to attempt tomurder (IPC Section-307) and (BNS Section-109) against themselves.
- The directions of the Supreme Court have had no effect on the political parties in selection of candidates in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 as they have again followed their old practice of giving tickets to around 38% candidates with criminal cases. All major parties contesting in Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 have given tickets from 42% to 100 % candidates who have declared criminal cases against themselves. The Supreme Court in its directions dated 13th February, 2020 had specifically instructed political parties to give reasons for such selection and why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates. As per these mandatory guidelines, the reasons for such selection has to be with reference to qualifications, achievements and merit of the candidate concerned. During the recent 2 State Assembly elections held in 2025, it was observed that political parties gave unfounded and baseless reasons like popularity of the person, does good social work, cases are politically motivated etc. These are not sound and cogent reasons for fielding candidates with tainted backgrounds. This data clearly shows that political parties have no interest in reforming the electoral system and our democracy will continue to suffer at the hands of lawbreakers who become lawmakers.
Financial Background
- Share of wealth among candidates:The share of wealth amongst the candidates contesting in the Kerala assembly elections 2026 is as follows:
| Value of assets (Rs.) | Number of candidates | Percentage of Candidates |
| Rs. 5 crores and above | 91 | 10.5% |
| Rs. 2 crores to Rs. 5 crores | 101 | 11.7% |
| Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 2 crores | 307 | 35.6% |
| Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs.50 lakhs | 192 | 22.2% |
| less than Rs.10 lakhs | 172 | 19.9% |
Table: Share of wealth amongst contesting candidates
- Crorepati Candidates: Out of the 863 candidates analysed, 339(39%) are crorepatis. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, out of 928 candidates, 249(27%) were crorepatis.
Figure: Comparative Analysis of Crorepati Candidates: 2021 Vs 2026
- Party wise Crorepati Candidates: The role of money power in our elections is evident from the fact that all major political parties give tickets to wealthy candidates. Among the major parties 61(72%) out of 85 candidates analysed from INC, 52(56%) out of 93 candidates analysed from BJP, 52(68%) out of 77 candidates analysed from CPI(M), 21(84%) out of 25 candidates analysed from IUML, 12(50%) out of 24 candidates analysed from CPI, 11(92%) out of 12 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress (M), 8(100%) out of 8 candidates analysed from Kerala Congress, 2(67%) out of 3 candidates analysed from NCP(SP), 1(100%) out of 1 candidate analysed from Kerala Congress (B) and1(100%) out of 1 candidate analysed from Kerala Congress (Jacob) have declared assets valued more than Rs 1 crore.
Figure: Party Wise Percentage of Crorepati Candidates
- Total assets of candidates: The total assets of 863 analysed candidates are Rs. 2,403 Crores.
- Average assets: The average of assets per candidate contesting in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 is Rs 2.78 Crores. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections, average assets per candidate for 928 Candidates was Rs. 1.69 Crores.
- Party wise average assets: Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 93 BJP candidates analysed is Rs. 5.70 Crores, 85 INC candidates analysed is Rs 3.93 Crores, 77 CPI(M) candidates have average assets of Rs 2.32 Crores, 25 IUML candidates have average assets of Rs 6.64 Crores, 24 CPI candidates have average assets of Rs 1.60 Crores, 12 Kerala Congress (M) candidates have average assets of Rs 10.44 Crores, 8 Kerala Congress candidates have average assets of Rs 39.64 Crores and 3 NCP(SP) candidates have average assets worth Rs 3.14 Crores.
- Highest assets candidates: The details of top 3 candidates with highest declared assets, contesting in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 are given below:
| S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Movable Assets (Rs) | Immovable Assets (Rs) | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given |
| 1 | Reji Cheriyan | Alappuzha | Kuttanad | Kerala Congress | 8,91,36,084 | 2,10,05,00,000 | 2,18,96,36,084 218 Crore+ | Y |
| 2 | Chenkal Rajasekharan | Thiruvananthapuram | Neyyattinkara | BJP | 83,18,67,985 | 33,74,82,917 | 1,16,93,50,902 116 Crore+ | Y |
| 3 | Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Thiruvananthapuram | Nemom | BJP | 96,91,87,627 | 15,07,20,000 | 1,11,99,07,627 111 Crore+ | Y |
Table: Top three candidates with highest declared assets
- Zero assets candidates:There are 8 candidates who have declared zero assets. The details of these candidates are given below:
| S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Movable Assets (Rs) | Immovable Assets (Rs) | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given |
| 1 | Sreedharan | Malappuram | Malappuram | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y |
| 2 | Sakkeer S/O Illyas | Malappuram | Ponnani | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | N |
| 3 | Paul P Chacko (Shaji Kadayil) | Kottayam | Puthuppally | BSP | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y |
| 4 | Shiny A C | Kottayam | Poonjar | BSP | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y |
| 5 | Sreekantan Nair V. | Thiruvananthapuram | Kazhakkoottam | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y |
| 6 | Sreekantan Nair V. | Thiruvananthapuram | Vattiyoorkavu | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y |
| 7 | Venganoor Asokan | Thiruvananthapuram | Kovalam | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | N |
| 8 | N.Jayarajan | Thiruvananthapuram | Kovalam | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y |
Table: Candidates with declared zero assets
- Lowest assets candidates: The details of three candidates with lowest assets (excluding zero assets candidates) are given below: