UP polls: Richest candidate in phase 2 has assets worth Rs 296 cr, poorest just Rs 6,700

Congress' Nawab Kazim Ali Khan is the richest candidate. Overall, 260 (or 45 per cent) out of the 584 candidates in the fray during the second phase of polls are crorepatis.

Representational Image (ANI)

Noida: The richest candidate in the fray for the ongoing second phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh on Monday (February 14) has assets worth Rs 296 crore, while the poorest has just Rs 6,700, according to a report.

Voting is currently taking place on 55 assembly seats of the state, spanning the nine districts of Amroha, Bareilly, Bijnor, Budaun, Moradabad, Rampur, Saharanpur, Sambhal and Shahjahanpur in western UP.

The Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in a report said they have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 584 candidates out of 586, who are contesting the second phase elections.

UP Assembly polls: 260 out of 584 candidates in second phase are crorepatis

The richest candidate, Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, the Congress candidate from the Rampur assembly seat, has declared assets worth Rs 296 crore, the report said.

He is followed by Supriya Aron of Samajwadi Party from Bareilly Cantt seat with Rs 157 crore in assets while BJP's Devendra Nagpal from Naugawan seat declared Rs 140 crore in assets, the report noted.

On the other hand, Sanjay Kumar, who will be contesting as an independent candidate from the Shahjahanpur seat, has declared assets worth just Rs 6,700, with all of it movable and nil immovable.

Aam Aadmi Party's Vishal Kumar (Nehtaur seat) and Usmal Malik (Saharanpur Nagar) come next in line with assets worth Rs 13,500 and Rs 15,000, respectively, according to the report.

Overall, 260 (or 45 per cent) out of the 584 candidates in the fray during the second phase of polls are crorepatis, the report noted.

Among the major parties, 52 (or 98 per cent) out of 53 BJP candidates, 48 (or 92 per cent) out of 52 Samajwadi Party candidates, 46 (or 84 per cent) out of 55 BSP candidates, 2 (or 67 per cent) out of 3 RLD candidates, 31 (or 57 per cent) out of 54 Congress candidates and 16 (or 33 per cent) out of 49 AAP candidates have declared assets valued more than Rs 1 crore, it stated.

The report found that the average of assets per candidate contesting in the elections is Rs 4.11 crores.

In terms of average assets per candidate among major parties, the SP's figures stood at Rs 11.26 crore followed by BJP (9.95 crore), Congress (Rs 8.20 crore), RLD (Rs 6.20 crore), BSP (Rs 5.74 crores) and AAP (Rs 1.60 crores), it noted.

Results of the UP assembly polls, being conducted in seven phases, will be announced on March 10.