168 Crorepatis, 117 With Criminal Candidates in UP Polls Phase Five

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ A total of 168 crorepati candidates are in the fray for the fifth phase of UP Assembly elections to be held on Monday, while 117 have declared criminal cases against themselves. UP Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 612 out of 617 candidates from 75 political parties, including 6 national parties, 4 state parties, 65 unrecognized parties and 220 independent candidates, who are contesting in the fifth phase to be held on February 27.

As per the report, out of 612 candidates, 168 (27 per cent) are crorepatis. Among crorepati candidates party-wise, 43 out of 51 are from BSP, 38 of 51 from BJP, 32 of 42 from SP, 7 of 14 from INC, 9 of 30 from RLD and 14 of 220 Independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.

The average assets per candidate contesting in the fifth phase of polls is Rs 1.56 crore. ADR said that among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 14 INC candidates is Rs 4.40 crore, 51 BJP candidates (Rs 4.64 crore), 51 BSP candidates (Rs 4.16 crore), 42 SP candidates (Rs 3.48 crore), 30 RLD candidates (Rs 2.20 crore) and 220 independent candidates (Rs 44.96 lakh).

The three richest candidates contesting in the fifth phase are Ajay Pratap Singh of BJP with total assets of over Rs 49 crore, followed by Ameeta Singh of INC (over Rs 36 crore) and Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh also from BJP (over Rs 32 crore), it said. A total of 156 candidates have not declared their PAN details. Also, 365 out of 612 candidates have not declared income tax details. Moreover, out of 612 candidates analysed, 117 have declared criminal cases against themselves, it said.