Candidates for phase 1 of the upcoming Manipur Assembly Polls come from all walks of life. While some are ordinary folk, others are affluent individuals with jaw-dropping bank accounts and assets.
According to an analysis by the poll rights group, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 91 out of the total 173 candidates are crorepatis, constituting 53% of the candidates in the fray. Out of these 91 richest, 28 from BJP, 21 from NPP, 18 from Congress, and 14 from JD(U) have declared assets worth more than 1 crore.
As analysed by ADR, the average of assets per candidate contesting in Phase I of the Manipur Assembly Elections 2022 is Rs 2.51 Crore.
Among the top political parties, the average assets per candidate for 38 BJP candidates are worth Rs 2.4 crore, for the 35 candidates it is at Rs 1.93 crore, 3.48 crore for the 27 NPP candidates and 2.67 crore for the 28 JD(U) candidates.
Occupying the third position is Sehpu Haokip, contesting as an independent candidate from Henglep constituency in Churachandpur district. Haokip has a total assets of worth over Rs 18 crore.
Second in the list is Khombongmayum Suresh Singh of the JD(U) who will be contesting from Uripok constituency. Singh’s net worth is above Rs 18.5 crore.
Making it to the top of the list is Sapam Nishikant Singh, with assets worth more than Rs 29 crore. Nishikant decided to contest from Keisamthong constituency after he was denied a ticket from the BJP.
Thangkhangin Ngaihte from the Lok Janashakti Party, which was founded by Ram Vilas Paswan in 2000, turns out to the poorest candidate. Ngaihte, who is contesting from Thanlon constituency, has declared total assets worth Rs 13,000.
Next in the list is Sapam Kangleipal Meitei contesting as an independent candidate from Lamai with declared total assets worth over Rs 34,000. He was NPP’s first choice but things went south after the party found out that Sapam had 24 FIRs registered against him pertaining to cyber terrorism, attempt to murder, criminal intimidation and many more.
Next in the list is Aribam Pramodini Devi among the very few women candidates contesting in the Manipur polls. Pramodini will be contesting on a Congress ticket and has declared total assets worth over Rs 48,000. Pramodini is contesting from Keisamthong and will be locking horns with Nishikant Sapam, the richest candidate in this assembly.
And then, NCP candidate Ningthoujam Popilal Singh, contesting from Sekmai constituency, has declared zero assets in his self-sworn affidavit.
