412 Crorepati Candidates Contesting in Odisha Assembly Elections
The article discusses the upcoming assembly elections in Odisha and highlights a significant finding: 412 candidates, constituting 32% of the total, are identified as 'crorepatis' (individuals with assets worth over a crore) as per a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Odisha Election Watch.
412 'crorepati' candidates are in the fray for the assembly elections to be held in Odisha from May 13 to June 1. It is being told that the ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’ (ADR) and 'Odisha Election Watch' have analyzed the election affidavits of 1,283 out of 1,285 candidates who are contesting for 147 assembly seats in Odisha.
What the Report Said
Assembly elections in Odisha are being held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections. ADR said in its report that out of the 1,283 candidates analysed, 412 (32%) are crorepatis, while in the 2019 assembly elections, out of the 1,121 candidates, 304 (27%) were crorepatis.
It said that 128 candidates of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), 96 candidates of the BJP, 88 candidates of the Congress and 11 candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore. The average assets of candidates contesting the current assembly elections are Rs 2.89 crore, while the average assets of candidates contesting in 2019 was Rs 1.69 crore. According to the report, former coal minister Dilip Ray is the richest candidate in the Odisha assembly elections.
BJP candidate from Rourkela assembly seat Dilip has declared total assets worth Rs 313.53 crore. After this, BJD candidate Sanatan Mahakud from Champua constituency is in second place with assets worth Rs 227.67 crore. In third place is BJD candidate from Basta assembly constituency Subasini Jena, who has declared movable and immovable assets worth Rs 135.17 crore.
According to the report, five candidates contesting for the assembly elections in Odisha have declared zero assets in their affidavits. According to this, out of 1283 candidates, 348 (27%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.
Out of the 1,121 candidates in the 2019 Odisha Assembly elections, 332 (30%) had declared criminal cases against themselves. There are 292 candidates in this assembly election who have serious criminal cases pending against them. Similarly, 566 candidates have declared their educational qualification between 5th to 12th, while 652 candidates have educational qualifications of graduation or above.