Over 70 per cent ministers contesting Madhya Pradesh polls own a gun: Affidavits

Over 70 per cent of Madhya Pradesh ministers running for assembly elections own at least one gun, as revealed in the affidavits filed by the ministers during their nominations. Among these ministers, 45 per cent own more than one firearm. As per a TOI report, the affidavits analyzed by the Election Commission show that Vijay Shah, Govind Singh Rajput, and Rajyavardhan Singh each own three weapons. Seven out of the 22 ministers analyzed possess at least two weapons. Bhupendra Singh, Brijendra Pratap Singh, Mohan Yadav, Mahendra Singh Sisodiya, Pradyumn Tomar, Bisahulal Singh, and Hardeep Singh Dang are among the ministers who own two weapons.

Additionally, Usha Thakur, Prabhuram Chowdhary, Vishwas Sarang, Arvind Bhadoria, Jagdish Devra, and Narottam Mishra own one weapon each. Interestingly, Vishwas Sarang received the revolver he owns as a gift. Surprisingly, Usha Thakur, who does not own any immovable assets according to her affidavit, possesses a pistol. Even Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan owns a revolver. Six ministers from Chouhan's cabinet, namely Gopal Bhargav, Kamal Patel, Prem Singh Patel, Om Prakash Saklecha, Meena Singh, and Tulsi Silawat, do not possess any weapons.

Apart from their firearms, the personal assets of these 22 cabinet ministers contesting in the polls were also considered. Among them, Bhupendra Singh is the wealthiest with assets worth Rs 27.93 crore, while Usha Thakur is the poorest with assets worth only Rs 58.7 lakh. In terms of annual income, Vijay Shah earns the highest with Rs 73.57 lakh, whereas Tulsi Silawat has the lowest annual income with only Rs 8.6 lakh.


Vijay Shah also holds the highest amount of cash in hand, with Rs 16.14 lakh, while Govind Singh Rajput has only Rs 45,000. Rajyavardhan Singh Dattigaon possesses the most valuable jewelry, worth Rs 1.05 crore, while Jagdish Devra does not own any jewelry. Four ministers from the state cabinet, namely Vishwas Sarang, Gopal Bhargav, Om Prakash Sakelcha, and Narottam Mishra, do not own any vehicles.

(The article was originally published in TOI)