168 crorepatis, 117 with criminal cases in fray for 5th phase of UP polls

A total of 168 crorepati candidates are in the fray for the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections to be held on Monday, while 117 have declared criminal cases against themselves, says a report.

UP Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms 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 the Bahujan Samaj Party, 38 of 51 from the Bharatiya Janata Party, 32 of 42 from the Samajwadi Party, 7 of 14 from the Congress, 9 of 30 from Rashtriya Lok Dal and 14 of 220 Independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore, the report released today by Delhi-based ADR said.

The average assets per candidate contesting in the fifth phase of polls is Rs 1.56 crore.

The 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.

"Ninety six candidates have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women etc.," it said.

Among party-wise candidates with criminal cases, 21 from BJP, 23 from BSP, 8 from RLD, 17 from SP, 3 from Indian National Congress and 19 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

On educational qualification of candidates, ADR said 266 have declared their qualification to be between 5th and 12th, while 285 have declared themselves as graduates or above, 38 candidates have declared themselves to be just literates while 9 are illiterates.

The report also said that 429 candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 50 years, while 181 between 51 and 80 years. Two candidates have not disclosed their age.

In the fifth phase, 43 women candidates are contesting the polls.