For every parliamentary seat in Punjab, on an average 35 candidates are in fray for 2014 general elections.
Among 219 candidates who file their papers on Wednesday — the last day for filing nominations — for trying their luck in the lok Sabha polls are actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna, the leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Sunil Kumar Jakhar, among others.
Maximum 48 candidates are in fray in Bathinda parliamentary seat from where Congress has fielded People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal in alliance, and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the SAD-BJP combine candidate.
Bathinda is followed by ludhiana with 44 candidates, Amritsar with 43, Hoshiarpur with 30, Sri Anandpur Sahib 37, Faridkot 39, Ferozepur 31, Sangrur 33, Patiala 38 and Fatehgarh Sahib 19, Jalandhar 34, Khadoor Sahib 33 and Gurdaspur with 26 candidates.
The scrutiny of nomination papers would take place on Thursday. Former Union Minister and three-time MP Vinod Khanna, SAD-BJP candidate from Gurdaspur lok Sabha seat, has declared his assets worth Rs66.92 crore including a fleet of seven cars worth Rs1.24 crores.
Three-time MP from Gurdaspur, Khanna's asset size has increased by around 90 per cent since 2009 lok Sabha polls when it was worth Rs35.15 crore.Fond of cars, Khanna has Reva amounting Rs4.02 lakh, Volkswagen Passat of Rs27.55 lakh, BMW 520D valuing Rs39.21 lakh, Altis worth Rs14.52 lakh, two Innovas of Rs25.03 lakh and Mahindra XUV costing Rs13.46 lakh.
As per his affidavits, Khanna has declared his movable and immovable assets, including that of his wife and two daughters, at Rs31.21 crore and Rs35.71 crore, respectively.Claiming to be a 'film artist', the three-time MP has shown his income as Rs98.82 lakh for the year 2012-13, while his legal consultant wife has annual income of Rs35.65 lakh, and his actor-son Akshaye has Rs19.09 lakh.
Agriculturist’ Sunil Jakhar has declared his assets worth Rs27.30 crore, with the maximum share — Rs19.54 crore — of his foreigner wife Silvia Jakhar, a Switzerland citizen.