Cong rebel is Assam's richest nominee

Mani Kumar Subba is the richest among the 57 who have so far thrown their hats into the ring in Assam for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The former Congress member and MP also poses the most serious threat to the party, which is expecting to win most of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

For, the “lottery baron” of Assam has entered the fray this time as an independent, after the Congress denied him a ticket to contest polls from his old turf of Tezpur.

Subba had won from the constituency thrice before being defeated by Asom Gana Parishad’s Joseph Toppo in 2009. Though the Congress has fielded Bhupen Bora as its candidate in Tezpur, Subba is not ready to give up. He has filed his nomination as an independent (with the cup and saucer as his symbol).

In his affidavit submitted to the Election Commission, Subba has declared assets worth more than Rs 205 crore, which makes him the richest among the 57 candidates who have so far submitted their nominations for the first and second phases of polling in the state.

Subba was denied ticket ostensibly due to the controversies over his lottery firm M S Associates and the fortunes he made out of the government contracts in the neighbouring states.

The CBI had also probed allegation that he was in fact a citizen of Nepal.

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee said Subba would be expelled from the party if he did not withdraw his nomination.