The final and fourth phase of the state elections is scheduled for June 1, with voting taking place for six Lok Sabha seats and 42 Assembly seats. A total of 394 candidates are vying for the 42 assembly seats in this phase, with 121 of them being crorepatis as per the report published by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Odisha Election Watch analyzing  the criminal background, financial status, education etc of the candidates.

Financial Status:

Out of 394 candidates, 121 (31%) are crorepatis. The BJD has the highest number of crorepati candidates at 37, followed by BJP (30) and Congress (21) and the CPI and CPIM with one each. Among the crorepatis candidates, Subasini Jena, a BJD candidate from the Balasore District Basta Assembly seat, is the wealthiest with assets worth over Rs 135 crore. Subasini Sahu a BJD, Simulia candidate and Niranjan Patnaik a Congress, Bhandaripokhari candidate are second and third richest with assets over Rs 91 crore and Rs 86 crore respectively.

Benudhar Mohapatra, an Independent candidate has the lowest assets worth Rs 645 followed by Jharanarani Jena, an Independent candidate of Basta with Rs 1000 and Gopal Krushna Behera of Jai Maha Bharath Party from Nimapara with Rs 2,671. Two candidates, Sanjay Kumar Das, an Independent candidate of Dhamnagar and Gopal Krushna Mohanty of Ambedkarite Party of India from Korei have no fixed or immovable assets.

Criminal Cases:

In terms of criminal cases, 24% or 96 of the candidates have criminal cases against them. 88 candidates face serious criminal cases, while 17 have attempted murder cases, and 20 have cases related to crimes against women. The BJP has the highest number of candidates with criminal cases at 28 out of 42, followed by the BJD with 13 and the Congress with 11.

Ratikant Kanungo, the Congress candidate from Patkura, has a maximum of 28 criminal cases against him.

Educational Qualifications:

The educational qualifications of the candidates vary range from 5th pass to doctorate degrees. Among the candidates, three are just literates, 9 are 5th pass while 19 are 8th pass, 68 are 10th pass & 53 are 12th pass, 22 are diploma holders, 92 candidates are graduates, 54 are graduate professionals, 68 are post-graduates and 6 hold doctorate degrees.

Age distribution:

The age of the candidates ranges from 25 to 90 years. The majority of candidates (139) fall in the 41-50 age group, followed by 101 in the 51-60 age group.

The report was unveiled during a press conference by Odisha Election Watch Coordinator Ranjan Kumar Mohanty, core team members Dr. Sahadev Sahu, Dr. Seva Mohapatra, and Khyamakar Swain. As the state gears up for the final phase of elections, the focus remains on ensuring a fair and inclusive electoral process.