Journalism of Courage
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and his deputy, Jishnu Devvarma, are among the 45 crorepati candidates contesting the February 16 Assembly polls, said a report released by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report stated that 17 candidates from the BJP, followed by nine from TIPRA Motha, seven from the CPM, six from the Congress and four from the Trinamool Congress are the crorepatis. Total 259 candidates are in the fray for the polls, votes from which will be counted on March 2.
At Rs 12 crore, TIPRA Motha candidate Abhijit Sarkar is the third-richest candidate, after the chief minister and his deputy, who have assets worth Rs 15 crore and Rs 13 crore respectively.
Congress candidate Chayan Bhattacharya has the highest liabilities, of Rs 3 crore.
Three independents—Hiramuni Debbarma, Nagendra Chandra Shil and Mridul Kanti Sarkar—are the poorest candidates. Nagendra and Mridul have assets worth Rs 1,200 and Rs 2,000 respectively while Hiramuni has only Rs 700, as per the ADR report.
The average assets of a candidate is worth Rs 86.37 lakh; it was Rs 46.92 lakh in 2018. Total 116 (45 per cent) candidates are graduates or with higher education qualifications. As many as 139 (54 per cent) candidates have studied till Classes 5-12. Two candidates are diploma holders and another two are only literates.
Total 63 (24 per cent) candidates are aged 25-40 while 142 (per cent) are aged 41-60 and 54 (21 per cent) are between 61 and 80 years old. Forty-one (16 per cent) candidates have criminal cases and 21 (8 per cent) have serious criminal cases against them.
