Chandigarh, October 4
When it comes to politics, money’s the name of the game in Haryana too. It probably explains the phenomenal increase in assets of sitting MLAs who are seeking re-election as also the staggering number of crorepatis, nearly 51 per cent, in the fray this time. Every party has a fair share of crorepatis.
Based on information providedby candidates in their affidavits in 2005 and 2009, the National Election Watch and Association of Democratic Reforms released the data of increase in assets of sitting MLAs since the last elections today. The figures clearly show that while the common man reels under rising prices, our politicians continue to prosper. “The data shows how much of the social service sentiment is actually reflected in the politicians’ work,” claims Anil Bairwal, National Coordinator of NEW and ADR.
The HJC candidate from Kosli, Mohit, is the richest with total assets worth Rs 92 crores followed by Congress’ Venod Sharma (Rs 87 crores) and INLD’s Kailash Bhagat (Rs 63 crore). The Congress candidate from Hisar, Savitri Jindal, INLD’s Ajay Chautala, BJP’s Capt Abhimanyu and Naresh malik also figure in the top 10 list.
The Congress has the highest number of crorepatis (72), while the INLD, the HJC, the BJP and the BSP have 56, 44, 41 and 49 crorepatis, respectively.
Also, the average assets of Congressmen are Rs 5 crore plus, making it the richest party, followed by the INLD and the HJC whose candidates have assets above Rs 3 crore on an average.
