As many as 245 (39 percent) candidates contesting the Uttar Pradesh elections in the third phase have assets worth over Rs 1 crore, shows an analysis of the affidavits of 623 candidates by the Association for Democratic reforms (ADR).

In all, 627 candidates are contesting in the third phase. ADR has not analysed the affidavits of four candidates because they were either incomplete or not properly scanned.

Of the 58 Samajwadi Party candidates analysed by ADR, 52 (90 percent) are crorepatis.

The richest candidate in the third  phase of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections is Samajwadi Party's Yashpal Singh Yadav. A candidate from the Babina constituency in Jhansi district, he has assets worth over Rs 70 crore.

Among the 55 BJP candidates whose affidavits ADR has analysed, 48 (87 percent) are crorepatis.

As many as 46 (78 percent) of the 59 Bahujan Samaj Party candidates are crorepatis, according to the ADR report. In Congress, 29 (52 percent) out of 56 candidates analysed are crorepatis.

The second and third-richest candidates in the third phase of the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are from Congress.

Ajay Kapoor from the Kidwai Nagar consituency in Kanpur Nagar has declared assets worth over Rs 69 crore. Pramod Kumar from the district's Arya Nagar constituency has assets valued more than Rs 45 crore.

From Aam Aadmi Party, 37 percent candidates have declared assets worth over Rs 1 crore, according to ADR. 

The ADR report says that the average assets per candidate in the third phase of elections is Rs 2.82 crores.

The third phase elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to take place on February 20. Four more phases will be held on February 23, February 27, March 3 and March 7.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10, along with Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.