From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: Politicians from the Northeast of all hues make loud noises about poverty in the region but when it comes to elections there are many crorepatis in the fray from these remote and backward states.
The pack is led by none less than Assam lottery baron Mani Kumar Subba with sitting Shillong MP Vincent H Pala way behind in the rank.
Subba, a three-time Congress Lok Sabha member from Assam’s Tezpur Lok Sabha constituency, is the richest of all Lok Sabha candidates in the North Eastern region. He is contesting this time as an Independent candidate from the same seat.
But a state-wise analysis shows that Sikkim topped the list with 67 per cent of its candidates declaring assets worth more than Rs 1 crore each. This may be because Sikkim is one of India’s smallest states, with only six candidates standing for the elections in total and out of those six, four are crorepatis.
Subba, whose total movable and immovable assets according to the affidavit filed with the Election Commission is pegged at Rs.306 crore, had retained the Tezpur seat since 1998 till he lost it to the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Joseph Toppo in 2009.
Ruling Congress this time denied a ticket to Subba and fielded party legislator Bhupen Bora in the constituency. The Congress expelled the 56-year-old leader from the party after Subba decided to contest the polls as an Independent candidate against the party’s official nominee.
Besides Subba, the other five prominent multi-millionaire candidates are Independent candidate Denis Siangshai (Meghalaya) who has shown assets worth Rs.128 crore, followed by All India United Democratic Front’s (AIUDF) Siraj Uddin Ajmal (Rs.67 crore, Assam), Meghalaya’s sitting Congress Lok Sabha member Vincent H Pala (Rs.49 crore), AIUDF chief and perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal (Rs.43 crore) and Independent candidate in Mizoram Robert Romawia Royte (Rs.34 crore).
Siraj Uddin is the brother of Badruddin Ajmal and sitting member of Assam Assembly. Badruddin Ajmal, incumbent MP, founded the Assam-based party few years back.
Pala was the richest candidate in the last Lok Sabha polls in 2009, but this time 49-year-old businessman Denis Siangshai is the richest candidate in Meghalaya. Interestingly, both Siangshai and Pala are from the mineral-rich East Jaintia Hills district.
Mizoram’s richest candidate Robert Romawia Royte was fielded by the United Democratic Front (UDF) against ruling Congress candidate and sitting Lok Sabha member C.L. Ruala. The main opposition UDF is an alliance of eight parties led by the main opposition party Mizo National Front.
Of the 71 multi-millionaire candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections in the North Eastern region, 41 are in Assam, eight in Meghalaya, six each in Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, five in Manipur, three in Mizoram and two in Nagaland.
Hiranmoy Chakraborty, an election expert, feels that the Election Commission must take such measures so that poor candidates can also contest the election.
The Lok Sabha elections have been held in five phases in seven North Eastern states – Assam (14 seats), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Manipur (2), Tripura (2), Nagaland (one) and Mizoram (one).
All over the country the National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analysed the self-sworn affidavits of candidates who are contesting in the 2014 Elections. Based on their analysis, out of the 1,391 candidates analysed, 397 (29 per cent) are crorepatis. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the highest percentage of crorepati candidates emerges from the Congress (a whopping 82 per cent), followed by the BJP (68 per cent of their candidates are crorepatis).
“59 (82 per cent) out of 72 candidates in INC, 54 (68 per cent) out of 80 candidates in BJP, 36 (46 per cent) out of 78 candidates in AAP, 34 (38 per cent) out of 89 candidates in BSP and 83 (15 per cent) out of 549 Independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore each,” said ADR in its study.
Haryana has the maximum number of crorepati candidates (92), followed by Uttar Pradesh (65), Delhi (49) and Maharashtra and Kerala with 46 crorepatis each.
In contrast, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has the least number of crorepati candidates. The story is a little different when you look at the share of crorepati candidates in the total number of candidates However, if one were to look at the percentage of crorepati candidates to the total number of candidates contesting from each state, Sikkim tops the list.
Among the large states, UP has the highest percentage of crorepati candidates, followed by Haryana and Chattisgarh.
