A total of 158 crorepati candidates are in the fray for the November 9 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections while 61 have declared criminal cases against them.
According to Himachal Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), out of the 338 candidates analysed, 158 (47 per cent) are crorepatis. "The average assets per candidate contesting in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections 2017 is Rs 4.07 crore,” it said.
An intense electoral battle is on the cards in the hills and valleys of Himachal Pradesh with traditional rivals with the Congress and the BJP locking horns in all 68 constituencies and 62 MlAs in the fray.
As per ADR report, among party wise crorepati candidates, 59 out of 68 candidates from Congress, 47 of 68 from the BJP, 6 of 42 from the BSP, 3 of 14 from the CPI (M), 1 of 3 from the CPI and 36 of 112 independents have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore, it said.
The report further said that among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 68 Congress candidates are Rs 8.56 crore, for 68 BJP candidates is Rs 5.31 crore and for 42 BSP candidates is Rs 46.78 lakh). The same for 14 CPI (M) candidates is Rs 2.31 crore, 3 CPI candidates' is Rs 74.64 lakh and for 112 independent candidates is Rs 3.20 crore.
The top candidates with highest assets contesting in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections are Balvir Singh Verma of BJP with total assets of over Rs 90 crore followed by Vikramaditya Singh of the Congress with over Rs 84 crore.
Five candidates have declared self annual income of more than Rs 1 crore. GS Bali, an INC candidate has declared the highest self income (annual). His annual income is Rs 3.42 crore and he has declared his salary from the Himachal Pradesh Government as his source of income, ADR, which works in the area of electoral and political reforms, said.
Also, a total of 20 candidates analysed have not declared their PAN details. The ADR report further said, "Out of the 338 candidates analysed, 61 (18 per cent) have declared criminal cases against them adding that 31 (9 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases."
Among party wise candidates with criminal cases, 6 from the Indian National Congress (INC), 23 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 3 from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 10 from the CPI(M) and 16 independents have declared criminal cases against them in their affidavits, it said.
On education details, the report said 120 candidates have declared their qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass, while 214 have a qualification of graduate or above. There is one candidate who is illiterate, while one has not given his educational details.