Patnaik is contesting from two Assembly constituencies, Hinjili and Bijepur. He has declared assets worth Rs 63 crore. The second in the list is BJP candidate KV Singhdeo contesting from the Patnagarh segment in Bolangir district. He has total assets worth Rs 37 crore.
Bhubaneshwar: According to a recent survey by Odisha Election Watch, BJD president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik is the richest among 244 candidates contesting the Assembly elections in the second phase. Election for 35 seats in the second phase of the Odisha Assembly polls is due on April 18.
The Odisha Election Watch (OEW), which is part of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), said, "Of the 244 candidates in the fray for the 35 Assembly segments, 70 are crorepatis.” The convener of OEW added that 13 candidates have assets worth Rs 5 crore and above, and 24 others have assets between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore.
Patnaik is contesting from two Assembly constituencies, Hinjili and Bijepur. He has declared assets worth Rs 63 crore. The second in the list is BJP candidate KV Singhdeo contesting from the Patnagarh segment in Bolangir district. He has total assets worth Rs 37 crore.
Also read: Modi tacitly opens door of alliance to Naveen Patnaik
Naba Kishore Das, BJD’s Jharuguda candidate, is third in the list of rich candidates with total assets worth Rs 33 crore. Saroj Kumar Meher of Patnagarh comes next in the list. He has declared assets worth Rs 31 crore.
Some of the other candidates in the rich-list include BJP's Bijay Kumar Swain (Rs 15 crore), BJD's Arkesh Narayan Singhdeo (Rs 15 crore), BJD's Nandini Devi (Rs 11 crore), BJP's Dinesh Jain (Rs 8 crore), BJP's Pitamber Acharya (Rs 7 crore and BJD's Kishore Kumar Mohanty (Rs 7 crore).
On the other end of the spectrum, BSP candidate Narayan Versa contesting from Bhatli Assembly segment has only Rs 8,044.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.