The sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is set to witness a battle of affluence, with a significant number of candidates boasting crorepati status. According to the Association of Democratic Reforms, out of the 866 candidates analysed, 338 (39 per cent ) are crorepati, with an average asset value of Rs. 6.21 crores.

Polling for the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections will take place today. The phase will see 869 candidates across 57 constituencies in seven states.

The sixth phase will see constituencies including 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, eight each in West Bengal and Bihar, seven in Delhi, six in Odisha, and four in Jharkhand going for polls in the sixth phase.

Share Of Wealth Among Candidates

The wealth distribution among candidates reveals that 14 per cent have assets above Rs 5 crore and 13 per cent fall within the Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore range. Additionally, 22 per cent of candidates possess assets between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 5 crore, 25 per cent between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, and 26 per cent have less than Rs 10 lakh.

State-Wise Crorepati Candidates

Examining the number of crorepati candidates in each state, Haryana takes the lead with 102 crorepati out of 223 total candidates. Delhi follows closely with 68 crorepatis out of 162 candidates, and Uttar Pradesh comes in third with 59 crorepatis out of 162 candidates. Other states with a notable number of crorepati candidates include Bihar (35), Jharkhand (25), Odisha (28), and West Bengal (21).

Party-Wise Crorepati Candidates

Analyzing party-wise data, independent candidates top the list, with 86 out of 325 candidates enjoying Crorepati status. The BJP comes in second, with 48 crorepati out of 51 candidates, followed by BSP with 23 crorepati out of 54 candidates. The Congress party has 20 crorepati candidates out of 25, the Samajwadi Party has 11 out of 12, and the Jannayak Janata Party has 9 out of 10. Meanwhile, all candidates of Biju Janata Dal, Indian National Lok Dal and Rashtriya Janata Dal are crorepati.

Candidates with Highest and Lowest Assets

Industrialist Naveen Jindal from the BJP tops the list with assets worth Rs 1,241 crore, contesting from Kurukshetra, Haryana. He is followed by Santrupt Misra of BJD from Cuttack, Odisha, with Rs 482 crore in assets, and AAP’s Dr. Sushil Gupta from Kurukshetra, Haryana, with Rs 169 crore.

On the other end of the spectrum, Master Randhir Singh, an independent candidate from Rohtak, Haryana, has declared the lowest assets at just Rs 2. Other candidates with minimal assets include Ram Kumar Yadav from UP’s Pratapgarh with Rs 1,000, and Khilkhilakar from Delhi’s North West Delhi (SC) with Rs 2,000.

Chandigarh:

BJP candidate from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat Naveen Jindal on Thursday filed his nomination papers.

The 54-year-old was accompanied by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini when he went to file his nomination papers. Later, he also addressed a public gathering in which his family members and BJP leaders, including the chief minister, were present.

Appealing to the voters of the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency to make Jindal victorious, Chief Minister Saini said the country has been moving ahead on the path of progress during the past ten years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Jindal, who joined the BJP in March after leaving the Congress, was an MP from Kurukshetra between 2004-2014. He faces Indian National Lok Dal’s (INLD) senior leader Abhay Singh Chautala and Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Sushil Gupta, among others.

AAP, a constituent of opposition’s INDIA bloc, is contesting the Kurukshetra seat in Haryana while the remaining nine seats in the state are being contested by the Congress.

The nomination process for the ten Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana, for which polling will be held on May 25, began on Monday.

The deadline for filing nominations is May 6. The scrutiny of nominations will be done on May 7, and candidates can withdraw their nominations until May 9.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

After being nominated as BJP’s candidate from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency, soon after joining the party, Naveen Jindal, taking a swipe at Congress, said it’s because of the negative talks by the negative people today that Congress is in a bad situation.

The former Congress leader Naveen Jindal had joined the ruling BJP on Sunday.

“During my 10-year tenure with Congress, I worked for people and raised several issues in parliament. I don’t want to comment on negative people who keep saying negative things. Today the kind of situation Congress has, is because of the negative talks by the negative people and that’s why I believe in positive politics and want to fulfil PM Modi’s dream of making India a developed nation by 2047,” he said.

Further, he termed his decision to join the BJP a “second innings” and called it a very important day for him as he looked forward to fulfilling PM Modi’s dream of making India a developed nation.

“It’s a very important day for me. By joining BJP, I have begun my second innings. BJP has fielded me from Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency and for the same I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for showing faith in me,” he said.

“People of Kurukshetra are like family to me and we have a relationship spanning 30 years. After getting nominated for the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat, I got the blessing of Manohar Lal Khattar and CM Nayab Singh Saini. Together, we will work on the dream of PM Modi and develop Haryana and the nation of our dreams,” he added.

Earlier, Jindal announced his resignation from the party on Sunday.

“I represented the Congress Party in Parliament as MP from Kurukshetra for 10 years. I thank the Congress leadership and the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. Today I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress Party,” Jindal posted on X.

Notably, Jindal represented the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency from 2004-2014 when he was in Congress.

However, he lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Raj Kumar Saini in the 2014 national elections and was not fielded by the Congress in 2019. This time Jindal will be up against the joint candidate of the AAP and Congress Sushil Gupta.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:
The fifth list of candidates of the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections include some people who have crossed over to the party from other organisations. These include industrialist Naveen Jindal, and former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA Sita Soren.

Here’s your 5-point cheatsheet:

New Delhi:

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh took a dig at industrialist Naveen Jindal, saying that the latter needed a “giant-size washing machine,” after the former two-term Kurukshetra MP joined the BJP after resigning from the Congress.

“When you need a giant-size washing machine, this had to happen. And after making ZERO contributions to the party in the last ten years, saying I am resigning from it is a big joke,” Jairam Ramesh said in a post on ‘X’.

When you need a giant-size washing machine, this had to happen. And after making ZERO contributions to the party in the last ten years, saying I am resigning from it is a big joke.https://t.co/yjNO1cl1MEpic.twitter.com/1E9R0mIaJC

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 24, 2024

Mr Jindal was being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a case pertaining to irregularities in allocation of a Jharkhand coal block. The Enforcement Directorate was investigating the money laundering charges in relation to the allocation of the coal block.

The opposition parties have often accused the BJP of inducting tainted leaders from their camp, following which the alleged corruption charges against them are never talked about.

The BJP which released its 5th list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, fielded Jindal from Haryana’s Kurukshetra constituency, a parliamentary seat already represented by the leader from 2004-2014.

Mr Jindal announced his resignation from the Congress party over a post on ‘X’ Sunday evening. He expressed his gratitude to the party and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“I represented the Congress Party in Parliament as MP from Kurukshetra for 10 years. I thank the Congress leadership and the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Today I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress Party,” Mr Jindal said in a post on ‘X’.

Industrialist Naveen Jindal represented the Kurukshetra constituency in the Lok Sabha for two terms. However, he lost to the BJP’s Raj Kumar Saini in the 2014 national elections and was not fielded by the Congress in 2019.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A Delhi court has allowed Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal, accused in three cases related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, to travel to Oman and UAE from September 11 to 13.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj allowed Mr. Jindal’s application noting he had travelled abroad several times in the past and returned to India to face the trial within the stipulated period.

“In the considered opinion of this court, the applicant/accused is entitled to permission of the court to travel abroad to Oman and UAE from September 11 to 13,” the judge said.

The judge directed Mr. Jindal to furnish a fixed deposit of ₹1 crore and not to tamper with any evidence or try to influence any witness in any manner.

Mr. Jindal had moved the application seeking court’s permission to go to the two countries in connection with his business interests. One of the cases Mr. Jindal is an accused pertains to irregularities in the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand, which is being probed by the CBI.

A separate money-laundering case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to allocation of the coal bock. The third case being probed by the CBI relates to the alleged irregularities in the allocation of Urtan North coal block in Madhya Pradesh. The CBI and the ED did not oppose the application.