Bhubaneswar: As many as 121 candidates in fray for the fourth phase of Assembly elections in State are crorepatis, with BJD candidate from Basta segment Subasini Jena the richest with Rs 135.17 crore assets.
Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituencies along with 42 assembly seats under these LS segments will go to polls in the last phase polls in Odisha on June 1.
As per a report of The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Odisha Election Watch, there are 121 (31 per cent) ‘crorepati’ candidates in fray for the fourth phase assembly polls in the state. BJD candidate from Simulia, Subasini Sahoo is the second richest candidate after she declared assets to the tune of Rs 91.75 crore.
The third palace is occupied by the Congress candidate from Bhandaripokhari Assembly segment, Niranjan Patnaik, who declared both movable and immovable assets worth Rs 86.58 crore.
Two candidates have declared that two own zero assets. Sanjay Kumar Das, independent candidate contesting from Dhamnagar assembly segment and Ambedkarite Party of India candidate from Korei constituency, Gopal Krushna Mohant don’t own any assets.
Out of 394 MLA candidates contesting for the fourth phase of polls, 96 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.
Similarly, 149candidates have declared their educational qualifications to be between class-V and XII standard while 220 candidates have an educational qualification of graduate or above.
Moreover, 22 candidates are diploma holders and 3 candidates have declared themselves to be just literate.