GUWAHATI: Former Congress chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Nabam Tuki, who is contesting in Arunachal West Lok Sabha constituency against BJP’s Kiren Rijiju and the Sagli assembly constituency, is in the Rs 100 crore club. Another Congress candidate from the region, Anil Borgohain (Lakhimpur in Assam) is the 9th highest earning candidate among those in the first phase election to be held in 20 states.
Also in the 9th position is Kabrabam Dhirendra Singha, an Independent candidate in Tripura West constituency, but in the list of poorest candidates. He has declared assets of Rs 6,587.
According to an analysis of assets of the 1,266 candidates in the fray in first phase of polls in 91 constituencies by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), there are 401 crorepati candidates. In the 13 seats in northeast which will go to polls in first phase, there are 43 candidates and 35 of them are crorepati candidates.
Tuki, who leads the crorepatis in the region is also at the bottom of the list of 19 candidates, whose declared assets are Rs 100 cr and above. Congress candidate in Telangana’s Chevella constituency, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy with declared assets of Rs 895 crore is the richest among the 401 crorepati candidates in first phase.
Borgohain, a businessman, has declared an annual salary of Rs 3.75 crore in his ITR for 2018-19. Jayadev Galla of Telegu Desam Party who is contesting from Guntur seat in Andhra Pradesh with a declared salary from business, investment and parliament of Rs 40.16 crore in ITR for 2018-19 is the richest among those with high income.
In Arunachal Pradesh, 10 of the 12 candidates for the two seats and seven of the nine candidates for the same number of seats in Meghalaya are crorepati candidates.
Assam’s five constituencies have 16 crorepatis among the 41 in fray while half of the eight candidates in Manipur’s one seat are crorepatis. Mizoram has six candidates for the lone seat in the state of which four are crorepatis. Tripura West constituency has the least—only one crorepati, Sankar Prasad Dutta of CPM, among the 13 in fray.
Party-wise, among the northeastern regional parties, NPP has five crorepatis candidates, MNF, People’s Party of Arunachal, NPF and North East India Development Party have one crorepati candidates each while the region’s biggest and most successful regional party, Asom Gana Parishad has none.
The top crorepati candidate in Assam is former Ulfa leader and former MLA, Jiten Gogoi who has declared assets of Rs 9.03 crore. He is contesting from Kalaiabor constituency as an independent.
Closely behind him is former Assam additional chief secretary MGVK Bhanu, who has stepped into a new field as Congress candidate from Tezpur. He has declared assets worth Rs 8.28 crore. Congress old war horse and former union minister Paban Singh Ghatowar in Dibrugarhis next with Rs 5.74 crore, Congressman Anil Borgohain is next Rs 5.11 crore, Dilip Moran of Assam Dristi Party at Lakhimpur is next with Rs 2.96 crore. Congress candidate in Jorhat Sushanta Borgohain follows with Rs 2.15 crore, then NPP’s Kamala Raj Konwar has Rs 1.88 crore.
BJP’s two candidates, Pallab Lochan Das (Tezpur) and Pradan Baruah (Lakhimpur) have Rs 1.44 crore and Rs 1.43 crore respectively while Tarun Gogoi’s son and sitting MP from Kaliabor, Gaurav has Rs 1.37 crore, all of it as movable assets. BJP’s Jorhat candidate Topon Kumar Gogoi is also in the crorepati bracket with asests worth Rs 1.25 crore. BJP candidate and sitting MP from Dibrugarh, Rameswar Teli is the only non-crorepati candidate of the party.
