16 crorepatis in fray in phase six Bengal elections

Kolkata, May 7 (IANS) Out of 83 candidates across parties contesting from the eight West Bengal seats in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, 16 have assets worth more than Rs 1 crore, while 28 have declared criminal cases against themselves, said a study released on Tuesday.

Among candidates who are in the fray for the sixth phase polls in the state, Trinamool Congress' outgoing MP from Ghatal constituency and Bengali film star Deepak (Dev) Adhikari, has topped the crorepati list declaring over Rs 31 crore of assets, followed by the BJP's nominee from the same seat and former IPS Bharati Ghosh with assets worth more than Rs 18 crore, said the report.

Trinamool Congress Midnapore candidate Manas Ranjan Bhunia has declared over Rs 6 crore worth of assets, according to the study.

Interestingly, Shiv Sena Party's Purulia nominee Rajib Mahato has declared "zero assets" in his affidavit.

Average assets per candidate contesting from the eight constituencies in the sixth phase is Rs 1.18 crore based on their self-sworn affidavits, according to an analysis done by West Bengal Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for the eight Trinamool Congress nominees is over Rs 6 crore, while BJP and Congress candidates have average assets over Rs 3 crore and Rs 50 lakh each. Average assets of CPI (M) candidates in this phase stand at over Rs 61 lakh.

The seven constituencies will go to the polls in the sixth phase of polls on May 12.

"Out of 83 candidates analyzed, 28 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves," the study said.

According to it, 33 candidates, out of 83, have declared their educational qualification to be between 8th and 12th standard while 44 candidates have declared having an education qualification of graduate or above, four candidates have declared to be just literate and one candidate is illiterate.