Father-son richest Odisha candidates in phase 4 polls

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Niranjan Patnaik and his son Navajyoti Patnaik have topped among the 98 crorepati candidates contesting in the state in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, a report said on Friday.

Out of the 52 Lok Sabha candidates from the state, 17 have assets worth more than Rs 1 crore while Congress' Lok Sabha nominee from Balasore, Navajyoti Patnaik, topped the list with assets of over Rs 104 crore.

The younger Patnaik, however, has liabilities of over Rs 107 crore, said a report prepared by Odisha Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Lok Sabha candidate from Balasore, Rabindra Jena, and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Kendrapara Lok Sabha candidate, Baijayant Panda, are placed second and third in the list with assets worth Rs 72 crore and Rs 57 crore, respectively.

The average assets per candidate contesting the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls in Odisha, slated on April 29, is Rs 5.29 crore.

Among the Assembly segments, out of the 334 candidates, 81 are crorepatis, according to the report.

Among candidates for the Assembly, PCC President Niranjan Patnaik, who is contesting from the Bhandaripokhari Assembly seat, is the richest with assets of over Rs 60 crore, followed by Congress' Jagatsinghpur candidate Chiranjeev Biswal at more than Rs 33 crore, while Biju Janata Dal's (BJD) Dharmasala candidate Pranab Balabantantray has assets of over Rs 17 crore.

The average of assets per Assembly candidate in the fourth phase is Rs 1.21 crore.

Among the major parties, 27 from BJD, 23 from Congress, 20 from BJP, one each from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress have declared assets worth over Rs 1 crore.