Around 105, or 19%, of the winning candidates reported having educational qualifications between class 5 and class 12, while 420, or 77%, stated they had a graduate degree or higher, as per the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Seventeen winners held diplomas, and one was “just literate,” according to ADR.

All 121 candidates who declared themselves illiterate lost the election.

Among the winners, two had studied up to class 5, and four up to class 8. Thirty-four declared completing education up to class 10, and 65 up to class 12.

An analysis by PRS Legislative Research indicated that agriculture and social work are the most common professions among the 543 MPs. Notably, 91% of MPs from Chhattisgarh, 72% from Madhya Pradesh, and 65% from Gujarat reported agriculture as one of their professions.

About 7% of the newly elected MPs are lawyers, and 4% are medical practitioners. The proportion of MPs with undergraduate degrees has steadily increased from the 1st Lok Sabha up to the 11th (1996-98). Since then, the proportion of MPs without a college education has fluctuated, decreasing from 27% in the 17th Lok Sabha to 22% in the 18th, according to PRS.

Their analysis also revealed that 5% of MPs, including three women, hold doctoral degrees in the 18th Lok Sabha.

Out of the 8,390 candidates, 121 declared themselves illiterate, and 359 reported their education level as up to the 5th grade. Official data shows that 647 candidates had studied up to the 8th grade, 1,303 had completed school, and 1,502 held a graduate degree. There were 198 candidates with doctoral qualifications.

Source: PTI

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