In MP, 16 crorepati candidates worth ` 700cr
At least 16 aspiring legislators in Madhya Pradesh, one of the backward ( BIMARU) states in the country, own wealth and properties collectively worth ` 700 crore.
The wealthy candidates who are trying their luck in the November 28 Assembly polls belong mainly to the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress. They are among the 4,041 candidates who have filed details of their properties in affidavits along with their nomination papers. The filing of nominations for 230 Assembly seats in MP ended on Friday.
The prominent “crorepati” candidates of the BJP include minister Sanjay Pathak (` 121 crore), minister Bhupendra Singh ( ` 47 crore), minister Gopal Bhargav (` 3.5 crore) and
MLAs Chetan Kashyap (` 120 crore), Surendra Patwa (` 38 crore), Gayatri Raj Panwar (` 27 crore), Mohan Yadav (` 16 crore) and Sailendra Jain (` 13 crore).
Congress candidates with properties running into crores of rupees include Vishal Patel (` 69 crore), Sanjay Sharma (` 65 crore), K. P. Singh (` 60 crore), Alok Chaturvedy (` 26 crore), Congress Legislature Party ( CLP) leader Ajey Singh (` 25 crore), Sachin Yadav (` 23 crore), Arundoya Choubey (` 11 crore) and Tulsi Silawat (` 5.68 crore).
The 2017- 18 per capita income of Madhya Pradesh at current price is estimated to be around ` 56,516 as against the all- India per capita income of ` 86,879.