'553 crorepatis, 283 with declared criminal cases in TN polls'

A total of 553 crorepatis are in the fray in the Tamil Nadu elections to be held this month, while 283 have declared criminal cases against themselves, a report said on Tuesday.

"Out of the 997 candidates analysed, 553 are crorepatis. 32 from the Indian National Congress, 64 from the Bharatiya Janata Party, 156 from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, 133 fielded by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, 72 from Pattali Makkal Katchi and 57 the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam candidates have declared assets worth Rs 1 crore and above in their affidavits," a survey by Association for Democratic Reforms said.

The average of assets of the 997 major party candidates analysed is Rs 4.35 crore, it added.

Two candidates have declared zero assets in their self-sworn affidavits.

Out of the 997 candidates analysed, 283 have declared criminal cases against themselves, it added.

"10 candidates from the INC, 26 from the BJP, 47 from the AIADMK, 68 candidates fielded by the DMK, 66 from the PMK, 41 from the DMDK and 8 Communist Party of India-Marxist candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits," it said.

A total of 28 constituencies have three or more candidates from major parties with declared criminal cases. The survey has labelled these areas 'red alert constituencies'.

A total of 114 candidates have not declared their PAN details, while 284 have not declared income tax details, it added.

The survey said that 454 candidates have declared their education qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass, while 488 have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above.

Six candidates have declared themselves to be simple literates and six other have declared themselves to be illiterate.

On the age details, 537 have declared their age to be between 25 and 50 years, while 458 have said it is between 51 and 80 years.

Two candidates have declared they are more than 80 years old.

On the gender details, 96 of the 997 major party candidates analysed are women.

A total of 3,776 candidates are in the fray in the Tamil Nadu elections to be held on May 16, out of which 1,107 are from major parties.

Tamil Nadu election watch and Association for Democratic Reforms have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 997 out of these 1,107 candidates contesting from major parties. Data of 110 candidates could not be analysed due to unclear affidavits, it said.

In a separate survey, the ADR said that as many as 96 candidates are crorepatis in Puducherry assembly elections, while 68 have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Puducherry election watch and Association for Democratic Reforms have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 343 out of the 344 candidates who are contesting in the Puducherry assembly elections to be held on May 16, 2016.

"Out of the 343 candidates, 96 are crorepatis. 18 from the INC, 8 from the BJP, 18 from the AIADMK, 21 fielded by the All India N R Congress, 5 from the PMK and 16 of 96 independent candidates have declared assets worth Rs 1 crore and above in their affidavits," the survey said.

The average assets per candidate is Rs 2.49 crore.

"Out of the 343 candidates, 68 have declared criminal cases against themselves. Six out of 21 candidates from the INC, 8 of 30 candidates from the BJP, 6 of 30 candidates from the AIADMK, 8 of 30 candidates fielded by the All India N R Congress, 6 of 24 candidates from the PMK, 3 of 26 from the Naam Tamilar Katchi and 11 out of 96 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits," it added.

Nine constituencies in the Puducherry assembly elections have three or more candidates with declared criminal cases.

A total of 94 candidates out of the 343 analysed have not declared their PAN details, while 204 have not declared income tax details.

On the education details of candidates, 189 have declared their education qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass, while 111 have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above.

Eight candidates have declared themselves to be simple literates and eight other candidates have declared themselves to be illiterate.

The survey said that 221 candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 50 years, while 122 have said it is between 51 and 80 years.

On the gender details, the survey noted that 22 women are contesting the Puducherry assembly election.