Analysis of affidavits shows that 18% of the candidates contesting in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections are facing criminal charges, while 25% of them have assets worth Rs 1 lakh crore, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Tamil Nadu’s election watchdog.
The report examined 3,992 out of 4,023 candidates, and found that 722 of them had declared criminal cases – up from 13% in 2021. The report cited this trend as a warning sign for electoral reform, noting that political parties continue to field candidates with criminal backgrounds.
The financial situation of the candidates also changed sharply. Average assets rose to $5.17 Crores $1.72 lakh crore in 2021, with 981 candidates declaring the above assets $1 Crore. Among them, AIADMK’s Leemarose Martin tops the list with assets beyond $5,863 crore, followed by C.R. Joseph Vijay from Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam with over $Rs 648 crore.
The report stressed the growing influence of the financial authority, noting that the main parties overwhelmingly field wealthy candidates. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leads in this regard, with 97% of its candidates classified as ‘crorepatis’.
This comes despite a 2020 directive issued by the Supreme Court of India requiring parties to provide clear, merit-based reasons for selecting candidates with criminal records. The dispute resolution report noted that parties continue to cite general justifications such as popularity or claims of politically motivated cases, which it said did not meet the court’s standard of “sound and convincing reasons.”
Party-wise, the AIADMK has the highest percentage of candidates with criminal cases among the major parties at 69%, while Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam has 40%.
Overall, 22 candidates declared asset overrides $100 Crores, the total assets of all the candidates $Rs 20,678 crore. The report finds that judicial directives have had little impact on candidate selection, with parties continuing to prioritize winnability over clean records.
