The BJP, which is contesting all 89 seats, have 79 candidates or 89 per cent of its nominees with assets above Rs one crore.

Of the 788 candidates contesting 89 seats in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls, 211 are 'crorepatis', with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for 79 such nominees, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in a report on Thursday.

With this, 27 per cent of the total number of candidates in the fray have assets worth more than Rs one crore.

The BJP, which is contesting all 89 seats, have 79 candidates or 89 per cent of its nominees with assets above Rs one crore, followed by the opposition Congress with 65 candidates at 73 per cent and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with 33 candidates at 38 per cent. The AAP is fighting 88 seats.

While the average assets per candidate contesting in the first phase of the election is Rs 2.88 crore, Ramesh Tilala, who is contesting from the Rajkot South Assembly constituency as a BJP candidate is the richest one with the total declared assets of Rs 175 crore, the ADR report said.

Indranil Rajguru, a Congress candidate from the Rajkot East seat, follows Tilala with Rs 162 crore assets. Jawahar Chavda, a BJP candidate from Manavadar seat, has assets worth Rs 130 crore, it said.

An independent candidate named Bhupendra Patoliya from Rajkot West Assembly seat has declared zero assets in his affidavit, the report stated.