Tripura polls: 45 candidates crorepatis, 41 have criminal cases: ADR Report

There are 45 crorepatis out of the total 259 candidates contesting the Tripura Assembly election to be held on February 16, said a report.

The ruling BJP has 17 crorepati candidates followed by Tipra Motha with nine and CPI(M) seven, said the report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a civil society organisation.

The Congress has six crorepati candidates, Trinamool Congress four and two Independent candidates are also crorepati, it said.

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Deputy chief minister Jishnu Dev Varma of the BJP, who is contesting from the Charilam constituency, is the wealthiest candidate with ₹15.58 crore of movable and immovable assets, the report said.

The Chief Minister, Manik Saha, a doctor, is the second richest candidate with ₹13.90 crore assets, ADR’s state coordinator Biswendu Bhattacharjee told PTI on Wednesday (February 8). Saha is contesting from Town Bardowali constituency.

The third richest candidate is Abhijit Sarkar of the Tipra Motha with assets worth ₹Rs 12.57 crore, Bhattacharjee said.

The BJP which has fielded 55 candidates has also the highest average assets at ₹1.86 crore, he said. The Congress candidate from the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency, Chayan Bhattacharya has the highest liabilities at ₹3.07 crore, he said.

Also read: Tripura polls: Triangular contest in the offing with TIPRA Motha sitting pretty

“Out of the total aspirants in the ensuing elections, 41 (16 per cent) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. In the 2018 elections, out of 297 candidates, 22 (7 per cent) nominees had declared criminal cases”, he said.

Bhattacharjee said seven out of 13 Congress candidates (54 per cent) have criminal cases, while nine out of 55 BJP candidates have criminal cases. “Of the 43 Left Front candidates, nine (16 per cent) have criminal cases. Eight candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder”, he said.

Of the total 259 candidates, 65 are graduates, 55 are class 12 pass and 39 are matriculates. Thirty-six candidates are class 8 pass out and nine are class 5 pass out, the ADR report added.