Raj Babbar tops list of crorepatis contesting bye-elections

The actor-turned-politician has declared assets worth over Rs 11 crore followed by SP's Dimple Yadav and BJP's Bhanu Pratap Singh Chouhan, who have declared movable and immovable properties worth Rs five crore and Rs three crore respectively, according to a report by the National Election Watch, an NGO working on electoral reforms.

The report was made on the basis of affidavits submitted by the candidates for the bye-elections. Out of a total of 16 candidates in the fray from Firozabad, four of them, including Raj Babbar, have criminal charges against them, the NGO said.

It also went through the affidavits of candidates contesting the bye-elections for 31 Assembly seats in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal due on November seven.

Out of the total of 317 contesting candidates, the NGO has analysed affidavits of 161 candidates and said 29 of them are facing criminal charges, including seven who have charges of rape, murder and attempt to murder against them.

Congress has given tickets to a maximum of six candidates facing criminal charges followed by five from SP and four from BJP, the report said.

There are 15 candidates from Uttar Pradesh who have criminal cases against them, five from Kerala, three from West Bengal and one each from Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, it said.

A total of 19 candidates have declared their assets in crore from these States. Twelve are from Uttar Pradesh, three from Chhatisgarh, two from West Bengal and one each from Rajasthan and Assam.

Rajesh Pandey alias Guddu Pandey, who is contesting elections on a BJP ticket from Padrauna assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh has declared assets worth over Rs six crore followed by All India United Democratic Front's Abdur Rahman Ajmal Assam from Salmara South seat in Assam with over Rs five crore.