412 'crorepati' candidates are contesting in the Odisha Assembly elections to be held from May 13 to June 1.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Odisha Election Watch have analyzed the self-affidavits of 1,283 of the 1,285 candidates contesting for 147 MLA seats in Odisha.

Assembly elections in Odisha are being held along with the Lok Sabha elections.

Of the 1,283 candidates analyzed, 412 (32 per cent) are crorepatis. ADR said in its report that out of 1,121 candidates in the 2019 Odisha Assembly elections, 304 (27 per cent) were crorepatis.

"128 candidates of BJD, 96 candidates of BJP, 88 candidates of Congress and 11 candidates of AA have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore," it said.

The average assets per candidate contesting in the Odisha Assembly elections 2024 is Rs 2.89 crore.The average assets per MLA candidate in 2019 was Rs 1.69 crore.

Former Coal Minister Dilip Ray has emerged as the richest candidate in the Odisha Assembly elections.

According to a report, BJP candidate from Rourkela assembly constituency Ray is the richest candidate with assets worth Rs 313.53 crore, followed by BJD candidate from Champua constituency Sanatan Mahakud (Rs 227.67 crore).

The third palace is occupied by BJD candidate from Basta assembly constituency, Subasini Jena, who has declared movable and immovable assets worth Rs 135.1 crore. Similarly, according to a report, five candidates contesting the assembly elections in Odisha have declared nil or nil assets.In his affidavit.

Candidates with zero assets include independent candidates Ramesh Kumar Mahanan (Bhawanipatna), Sohan Sipka (Kantabanji) and Sanjay Kumar Das (Dhamnagar), BS candidate Purna Chandra Majhi from Rayagada and Ambedkarite Party of India's Gopal Krishna Mohanty, who is contesting from here. are fighting. , are fighting. Corey.

A total of 103 MLAs are contesting re-election in the 2024 assembly elections, out of which 74 are from BJD, 21 from BJP, five from Congress, two independents and one from CPM.

Of the 1,283 candidates analyzed, 348 (27 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves. In the 2019 Odisha Assembly elections, 332 (30 per cent) of the 1,121 candidates analyzed had declared criminal cases against themselves.Serious criminal cases are pending against 292 candidates in this assembly election.

Similarly, 566 MLA candidates have declared their educational qualification to be between class 5 to 12, while the educational qualification of 652 candidates is graduation or above. Besides, 51 candidates are diploma holders, 12 candidates are just literate and two candidates are illiterate, the report said.

Out of the total candidates contesting in the assembly elections, maximum 76 candidates are in the age group of 41 to 60 years, 333 candidates are in the age group of 25-4 years, 188 candidates are in the age group of 61 to 80 years and 2 candidates are in the age group of 25 to 25 years. -40 years old. He has declared his age to be more than 80 years.

Only 178 (14 percent) women candidates are contesting the 2024 assembly elections in the state, whereas 112 (10 percent) women candidates had contested the 2019 elections.