131 ‘crorepatis’ in State Assembly election fray in Arunachal Pradesh
Our Correspondent
Itanagar: As many as 131 candidates, out of total 184 who are in the fray for April 11 Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh are ‘crorepatis’, which accounts to 71 per cent of the total candidates, according to a report by National Election Watch, a part of Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Among the share of wealth among the candidates, 67 candidates (36 per cent) have wealth above five crore, while 44 candidates (24 per cent) have wealth to the tune of two to five crore.
Out of the total candidates, 35 (19 per cent) have wealth between 50 lakh and two crore, while 25 candidates (14 per cent) have wealth between ten to 50 lakh and 13 candidates (7 per cent) have wealth below ten lakh.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu who is contesting from Mukto Assembly constituency in Tawang district as a BJP candidate figured as the richest person with assets more than 163 crore including movable assets worth Rs 1,43,87,82,786 and immovable worth Rs 19,62,75,356, as declared in the affidavit.
While Lombo Tayeng, the Congress candidate from Mebo constituency under East Siang district is the second richest candidate in the State with wealth of more 148 crore inclulding movable assets of Rs 1,13,52,21,594 and immovable assets of Rs 35,01,84,400.
BJP candidate Tsering Tashi from Tawang Assembly constituency is the third richest candidate with assets worth over 109 crore including movable assets of Rs 97,10,97,522 and immovable assets of Rs 12,32,96,250.
In the 2014 Assembly elections in the State, out of total 148 candidates, 88 (60 per cent) were crorepatis.
Among the major parties, BJP has the highest number of 54 (90 per cent) crorepatis out of total 60 contesting candidates. While the Opposition Congress has 30 (65 per cent) crorepatis out of 46 contesting candidates. Among the 30 candidates fielded by National People’s Party (NPP), 11 (73 per cent) are crorepatis.
The Janata Dal United contesting the State Assembly polls for the first time, has seven rich candidates out of 15 candidates fielded, while five candidates of Janata Dal Secular (JDS), making maiden entry into the state electoral scene, has seven (58 per cent) crorepatis out of total 12 in the fray.
Five independent candidates out of total 11, have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore, the report said.
The average assets per candidate contesting in the state Assembly polls is Rs 9.86 crores in comparison to Rs 5.04 crore average assets per candidate in 2014 elections.
Among the major parties, the average assets per candidate for 60 BJP candidates is Rs 14.13 crores, while it is 11.95 crore for 46 Congress candidates, Rs 6.43 crore for 30 NPP candidates, Rs 7.79 crore average for 15 JD(U) candidates and Rs 4.30 crore average assets for 12 JD(S) candidates.
Nine candidates of the Peoples’ Party of Arunachal (PPA) have average assets worth Rs 1.71 crores and 11 Independent candidates have average assets of Rs 3.38 crores.
Congress candidate from Tali assembly constituency in Kra Daadi district has declared zero assets.
Among the low asset candidates, JD (S) candidate from Lekang constituency Takam Paleng has declared assets worth only five thousand, while another JD (S) nominee from Longding-Pumao constituency Wangshu Wangsu has assets worth Rs 75,365.
Congress candidate from Liromoba seat Marjum Karbak in his affidavit has declared assets both movable and immovable to the tune of Rs 1, 20,000.
Out of the total 184 candidates , 35 (19 per cent) candidates’ spouse, HUF and dependents have more than 60 per cent of the total assets declared in the affidavit.
Among the candidates with high liabilities, former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki who is the Congress candidate from West Parliamentary constituency and Sagalee Assembly seats, has highest liabilities of over 100 crore.
While JD (U) candidate Hayeng Mangfi contesting from Chayangtajo seat in East Kameng district has liabilities of over 28 crore, Tanya Siki of the BJP, contesting from Daporijo constituency in Upper Subansiri district has liabilities of over 19 crore. The report added that none of the candidates have declared their ITR details. As per section 10 (26) of IT Act 1961, a member of ST residing in the specific area of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura or Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir is exempt from paying IT.
Two candidates out of the total have not declared their PAN details.
While 68 (37 per cent) candidates have declared their educational qualification to be between 5th and 12th, 106 (58 per cent) candidates have declared having educational qualification of graduate or above. Among the total, two candidates are literate while five are illiterate.
A total of 35 candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 40 years while 130 have declared their age to be between 41 to 60 years. There are 19 candidates who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years, the report added.
Also read: Arunachal news
