15 crorepatis in fray for five LS seats in Assam
Of the 35 candidates in the fray for the five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam going to the polls on April 19, fifteen are ‘crorepati’ with the richest being independent woman candidate Diluwara Begum Chowdhury from the Kaziranga seat. Five BJP candidates, three of Congress, two of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), one each of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and Bharatiya Gana Parishad (BGP) and three independents have assets over ₹1 crore, according to the adavits filed by candidates. The average assets of AAP candidates are the highest at ₹6crore, followed by the BJP candidates at over ₹4 crore, the Congress at ₹3 crore, the AITC and the BGP at ₹1 crore each. Independent candidate Diluwara Begum Chowdhury, who owns fuel stations, has total assets of over ₹17.58 crore. She is followed by AAP’s Dibrugarh candidate Manoj Dhanowar with assets worth over ₹9.32 crore. The richest BJP candidate is Sonitpur nominee and MLA Ranjit Dutta with total assets worth ₹8.97 crore.
‘Ready to give funds, but press EVM button in our favour’
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said he was ready to sanction funds liberally for development, provided people showed the same generosity while voting for the ruling Mahayuti alliance. The Nationalist Congress Party leader, who was speaking in a lighter vein, later said he was only appealing people to vote for the alliance.
“...As far as funds are concerned, we will cooperate to give you as much as you want, but at the same time, the EVM button needs to be pressed in abundance. If EVM button is pressed in abundance, I will also feel good allocating funds, or else, I will have to restrict myself,” he said while addressing a gathering of lawyers and traders at Indapur in the district. Speaking to reporters after the event, he said he was only making an appeal to voters to favour the Mahayuti and did not violate the model code of conduct.