As many as 96 out of the total 343 candidates contesting in the May 16 Assembly elections in the Union Territory are crorepatis, according to an analysis of the election affidavits submitted before the Election Commission.
The analysis was done by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Puducherry Election Watch (PEW).
The Congress led the list of candidates in 2016 with 18 of its 21 candidates (86 per cent) in the crorepati class while the AINRC came a close second with 21 out of 30 candidates (70 per cent). The AIADMK was in the third position, with 18 out of 30 (60 per cent) of its candidates figuring in the list.
As many as five candidates from PMK and 16 out of 96 Independent candidates also figure on the crorepati list in 2016. The number of crorepati candidates in the Union Territory has jumped from 48 in 2011 elections to 96 candidates now. DMK topped the list with 80 per cent, followed by the Congress with 76 per cent in 2011 elections.
Ashok Anand of the ruling AINRC leads the list of crorepati candidates with assets worth Rs.124 crore, followed by M.A.S. Subramanian of the AIADMK with Rs.39 crore. V.C. Ezhumalai alias Kasilingam, also from the AIADMK, held the third position with assets worth Rs.38 crore.
A. John Kumar of the Congress held the fourth position with assets worth Rs.37 crore, followed by G. Nehru of the AINRC with Rs.35 crore and V.P. Sivakozhundu of the Congress with Rs.29 crore. Chief Minister N. Rangasamy held the seventh position with assets worth Rs.27 crore.
According to P. Joseph Victor Raj, State coordinator of PEW, the average assets per candidate contesting in the 2016 Assembly poll is Rs.2.49 crore.
The analysis also revealed that 67 out of the total 343 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves while 30 candidates have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, theft, crimes against women, and so on.
Criminal cases
The report also highlighted that of the 67 candidates with criminal cases against them, the ruling AINRC and BJP have fielded the highest number – eight candidates each followed by the AIADMK and PMK with six each and the Congress with five candidates.
As many as three candidates of Naam Tamizhar Katchi and 11 Independents have also declared criminal cases against them. Thirty candidates have declared serious criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, theft and crimes against women.
Nine out of the total 30 constituencies are “red alert” ones with at least three or more candidates having declared criminal cases against them.
Karaikal South and Neravy T.R. Pattinam in Karaikal lead the list with seven and six candidates respectively followed by Lawspet, Manavely and Thattanchavady.
As many as 111 of the 343 candidates have completed their graduation while 189 candidates have declared their education qualification to be between Standard V and XII.
