Delhi MLAs low on educational qualifications, say reports

Delhi, known for its centres of academic excellence, fares badly when it comes to the educational qualifications of its legislators, with 47% of MLAs being just Class XII pass or less.

BJP, which emerged the single largest party in assembly polls with 31 seats, has two members who are class VIII pass outs. It has three candidates holding doctorates, besides chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan, who is a practising ENT specialist. It also has seven post graduates.

Debutant Aam Admi Party, which has garnered 28 seats, is being lead by Arvind Kejriwal who is a former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and an IIT graduate. However, the party has one candidate who is Class VIII pass out.

Congress, which received a drubbing in the election, also falls short on the academic front. Of its eight MLAs, three are graduates, one is Class X pass out and four are Class XII pass outs.

Out of 70 MLAs, four are PhD holders. Harish Khanna, an MLA of AAP, along with Jagdish Mukul, Mahendra Nagpal and Nand Kishore Garg, all BJP MLAs, are PhD holders.

Just 51% MLAs are graduate or above.