96 Candidates With Criminal Cases Contesting In Last Phase Of Assembly Polls In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: As many as 24% of the candidates with criminal cases are contesting in last phase of Assembly elections in Odisha compared to 23% of Lok Sabha nominees.

This was revealed in the report of Odisha Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) which analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 394 candidates who are contesting in 42 Assembly seats in the last phase of the elections scheduled on June 1.

Out of all candidates analysed, 96 (24%) candidates have criminal cases against them, while 88 (22%) candidates have serious criminal cases against them.

As many as 121 candidates, accounting for 31% of total candidates, have properties worth more than Rs one crore. The average assets of the self-proclaimed properties of the candidates have been estimated at Rs 2.62 crore.

While the average assets of 103 re-contesting MLAs fielded by various parties including Independents in 2019 was Rs 4.51 crore, those of 103 re-contesting MLAs in 2024 is Rs 7.80 crore, the report mentioned.