Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Richer Candidates make their entry

Richer candidates have entered the fray in Tamil Nadu. Among the 167 fielded by recognised parties in the state, 120 are crorepatis and 36 have declared assets worth over 10 crore. In comparison, only 20 candidates were crorepatis and 13 had assets more than 10 crore in 2009.
An analysis of the affidavits filed by candidates reveals that Congress has fielded 12 candidates, the maximum, with assets worth more than 10 crore. Its Kanyakumari candidate, H Vasanthkumar, is the richest in the state with assets of 285.8 crore, followed by BJPs Vellore candidate A C Shanmugam (106.1 crore).Though Shanmugam, a businessman, has his own party New Justice Party he is contesting on BJP symbol as part of NDA. Poorest among the 167 candidates is CPMs G Anandan (Villupuram),who is worth 1.92 lakh.
DMK has nine candidates with assets over 10 crore, followed by AIADMK (7),DMDK (5),BJP (2) and PMK (1).Though the state has 36 candidates worth more than 10 crore, they come nowhere near those in states like Bihar, where real estate baron Anil Kumar Sharma, fighting on a JD(U) ticket from Jehanabad, has declared assets of 850 crore. Congress Bangalore South candidate Nandan Nilekani is worth 7,700 crore, which includes shares he and his wife have in Infosys.
The increase in the number of candidates with assets worth crores shows that more rich people are entering the election fray. Till 2009, only a few rich people were ready to get into the world of politics, said Association for Democratic Reforms chief Jagdeep Chhokar. Another reason could be the increase in number of candidates this time with AIADMK and Congress contesting 39 seats on their own and DMK fielding candidates in 35.In 2009, these parties contested in alliances and fielded fewer candidates.

Some sitting MPs who are contesting again have shown manifold increase in assets compared to 2009.Sriperumbudur will witness a battle between two of the richest candidates. DMKs S Jagathrakshakan, who was a central minister, has assets to the tune of 78.04 crore, a 12-fold jump from 5.9 crore he declared in 2009.His rival, AIADMK candidate K N Ramachandran is richer than him at 93.67 crore. The assets candidates have declared range from deposits and Range Rovers to land and commercial buildings.

Top 10 richest candidates in Tamil Nadu:

Name
Party
Const
Asset (Rs in Cr.)
H Vasanthakumar
Congress
Kanyakumari
285.8
A C Shanmugam
BJP
Vellore
106.1
K N Ramachandran
AIADMK
Sriperumbudur
093.7
S Jagatrakshakan
DMK
Sriperumbudur
078.0
T R Pachamuthu
BJP
Perambalur
077.7
R Prabhu
Congress
Coimbatore
060.9
Karti Chidambaram
Congress
Sivaganga
059.7
Sarubala Thondaiman
Congress
Trichy
057.1
P Palanisamy
DMK
Pollachi
040.7
Anbumani Ramadoss
PMK
Dharmapuri
031.4

(Biggest misses in top ten are: A. Raja and Dayanidhi Maran)

Value of assets:

Range
2009
2014
> Rs. 50 crore
2
8
Rs. 10 crore – Rs. 50 crore
13
36


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