Bhubaneswar: BJP leader and former Union Minister Dilip Ray is the richest of the 265 Assembly candidates for the second phase of elections in Odisha, while BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik occupies the third place after his party nominee Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo who is placed second.
Altogether 95 of the 265 candidates contesting Assembly elections in 35 seats in the second phase are crorepatis, as per a report prepared by Odisha Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) after analysis of the self-sworn affidavits of all the contestants. This means 36 per cent of the MLA candidates are crorepatis.
It says the average of assets per candidate contesting in the Assembly polls in second round is Rs 3.98 crore.
Dilip Ray, who is contesting as BJP candidate from Rourkela, tops the list with total assets of Rs 313 crore, while BJD nominee from Balangir Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo is placed in second position with a total asset of Rs 73 crore.
Similarly, BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, who is contesting from Kantabanji as well as Hinjili constituencies, is in the third position with total declared assets of Rs 71 crore.
Candidate With Zero Asset
An independent candidate, Sohan Sipka contesting from Kantabanji Assembly constituency in Balangir has declared zero assets. As per the report, Sipka is considered the poorest of all Assembly candidates.
10 Richest Candidates
Dilip Ray, BJP: Rs 313 crore
Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, BJD: Rs 73 crore
Naveen Patnaik, BJD, Kantabanji & Hinjili: Rs 71 crore
Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, BJP: Rs 67 crore
Saroj Kumar Meher, BJD: Rs 62 crore
Dipali Das, BJD: Rs 37 crore
Bhimsen Choudhry, BJD: Rs 17 crore
Anil Meher, INC: Rs 14 crore
Nakul Nayak, INC: Rs 14 crore
Low Assets Candidates
Pradipa Sahu, Boudh (Independent: Rs 7,000
Abhiram Dharua, Kantabanji (All India Forward Bloc): Rs 8592
Satyananda Bohidar, Titilagarh (IND): Rs 11,000
Balram Nayak, Hinjili (BSP): Rs 11,000
Notably, the second phase of Assembly elections is slated to be held in Odidsha simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls on May 20. While the first phase polling was held on Monday, third and fourth rounds are scheduled on May 25 and June 1.
