Assembly elections 2017: Assets of 60 Uttarakahnd MLAs double in five years

New Delhi: Average assets of 60 MLAs contesting the 2017 Uttarakhand polls has nearly doubled in the last five years, registering a jump of over Rs 1.75 crore.

According to a report by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), average assets of the 60 MLAs jumped to Rs 3.62 crore in 2017 from Rs 1.85 crore in 2012, an increase of 96 per cent.

Jaspur MLA Shailendra Mohan Singhal, who joined the BJP from the Congress, saw his assets grow at a massive rate of 1,015 per cent, to reach in excess of Rs 35 crore from Rs 3.19 crore he had declared in 2012. 

The average assets of 29 recontesting MLAs from the BJP went up to Rs 4.42 crore from Rs 2.39 crore in 2012, a rise of 85 per cent, while the 28 Congress MLAs have seen their assets grow by 105 per cent to reach Rs 2.81 crore from Rs 1.37 crore in 2012. 

However, five of the recontesting MLAs -- four from the Bharatiya Janata Party and one from the Congress -- saw negative growth of their assets.