119 Crorepati Candidates Contesting Third Phase Lok Sabha Polls In Odisha

As many as 119 crorepati candidates are contesting the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the third phase in Odisha, said a report on Saturday.

While 16 Lok Sabha candidates have assets worth more than Rs 1 crore, 103 candidates contesting Assembly polls are crorepatis, said a report prepared by Odisha Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

61 Lok Sabha and 356 Assembly candidates are fighting in the third phase polls in the state.

Elections will be held for six Lok Sabha seats - Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri and Bhubaneswar - and 42 Assembly segments, which fall under the LS constituencies.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate from Puri Lok Sabha seat Pinaki Mishra has highest assets of over Rs 117 crore among the six Lok Sabha candidates.

Nitesh Ganga Deb, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, has assets of over Rs 26 crore while Congress' Dhenkanal LS candidate Kamakhya Prasad Singhdeo has over Rs 15 crore assets.

The average of assets per candidate contesting in the third phase Lok Sabha polls is Rs 3.87 crore, the report said.

The report which analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 354 out of 356 Assembly candidates informed that 103 are crorepatis.

Congress candidate Bobby Mohanty from Baramba assembly constituency has assets over Rs 106 crore while Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik, who is contesting from Ghasipura, has assets of over Rs 60 crore.

Independent candidate from Champua Srimanta Kumar Tripathy has assets over Rs 46 crore.

The average of assets per candidate contesting in the Assembly elections in phase three is Rs 2.22 crore.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 42 BJD candidates is Rs. 4.58 crore, 42 BJP candidates analysed is Rs 3.55 crore, 41 Congress candidates have average assets of Rs 7.03 crore, 5 AAP candidates have average assets of Rs 63.37 lakh and 30 BSP candidates have average assets worth Rs 40.89 lakh.