In Bihar, Congress candidate Ajit Sharma is wealthiest, Independent candidate Pappu Yadav has 41 criminal cases
The Hindu
Ajit Sharma is wealthiest, Pappu Yadav has most criminal cases in Bihar Lok Sabha poll phase 2.
Out of a total of 50 candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls on 5 seats in the second phase in Bihar, the Congress candidate from Bhagalpur Ajit Sharma is the wealthiest. In contrast, the Independent candidate from the Purnea seat Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has a maximum number of 41 criminal cases lodged against him.
According to the latest Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report, out of a total of 50 candidates, 24% (12) have declared criminal cases against them with the Independent candidate from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav topping the list with 41 cases. The heavyweight Pappu Yadav was also accused in the murder of CPIM leader and four-time MLA from Purnea Ajit Sarkar. Mr. Sarkar was murdered in broad daylight in June 1998 allegedly by Pappu Yadav and his gang members.
Also Read | Purnea Lok Sabha seat may witness triangular fight as RJD candidate Bima Bharati files nomination papers
Nine (18%) candidates have also declared serious criminal cases against them. The ruling alliance party JD(U) contesting all five seats, has 40% of candidates with criminal cases while 20% have serious criminal cases against them. The Opposition mahagthabandhan (grand alliance) alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) contesting two seats, 50% of candidates have criminal and serious criminal cases. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) contesting only one seat of Kishanganj in second phase, has 100% of candidates with criminal and serious criminal cases.
Similarly, 28% (14) of the candidates have declared assets worth more than ₹1 crore. The three Congress candidates Ajit Sharma from Bhagalpur, Mohd. Jawed from Kishanganj and Tariq Anwar from Katihar are the richest among all with assets of over ₹54 crore, over ₹18 crore and over ₹15 crore respectively while Independent candidate Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav from Purnea seat has assets of over ₹10 crore. They (Mr. Sharma, Mohd. Jawed and Pappu Yadav) have also declared their liabilities of ₹4 and ₹1 crore each respectively.
However, the JD(U) candidate from Purnea Santosh Kumar Kushwaha has vied along with Ajit Sharma and Mohd Jawed of the Congress party for the bracket of candidates with high income as declared in their Income Tax Return (ITR) for the year 2022-23.
Marang Hansada contesting from the Katihar seat on People Party of India (Democratic), Arun Das on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) from the Purnea seat and the Independent candidate on the Kishanganj seat Mohd. Gufran Jamali are the top three candidates with low assets.
Maharashtra's 29 civic bodies, including Mumbai, hold elections with 3.48 crore voters choosing 2,869 corporators amid intense competition.
Congress leader B.V. Rajeev Gowda from Shidlaghatta in Chikkaballapur district allegedly threatened the Municipal Commissioner of the town of setting fire to her office and getting her beaten up, and used abusive language, over a flex and banner that was removed for violating norms.
Police in Vizag seize 650 rolls of banned Chinese manjha amid safety concerns as illegal sales continue ahead of Sankranti.
Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar clarifies Rahul Gandhi's message was simply to continue good work, dismissing any speculation.
Over 51,000 hearings in Ernakulam help reinstate voting rights as part of the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls.
The foundation stone for the construction of Shri Parashurama Swagata Gopura (Welcome Tower) in the northern entry to Udupi city will be laid by Yashpal Suvarna, Udupi MLA and president of Shiroor Mutt Paryaya Swagata Samiti on January 16.
The municipal bus stand auditorium in Malappuram was packed. But nobody quite knew what to expect. After all, a new event was making its debut at the State School Arts Festival. The moment V.G. Harikrishnan started his rendition of Pyar bhare do sharmile nain..., everyone was convinced that Ghazal was here to stay. The student from GVHSS, Atholi (Kozhikode), was applauded loudly for his rendering of the timeless ghazal sung originally by Mehdi Hassan.
Join influential discussions at The Hindu Lit for Life festival in Chennai on January 17-18, 2024.
For the last few weeks, several wards in Madurai city have been getting piped drinking water through a new drinking water scheme. The sweetness of the generously supplied water has led to loss of business to several suppliers of canned drinking water in the city. But, not many know that the water supplied to the houses in Madurai is directly drawn from Lower Dam of Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki district of Kerala.
A 20-acre farm on the St Xavier’s College campus at Thumba run by State Award-winning farmer S.V. Sujith had visitors from the Iowa State University, U.S., on Tuesday.
NGT issues notices to U.P., M.P., and Rajasthan over sewage contamination in drinking water, citing serious health risks.
Last-minute Pongal shoppers crowd Tiruchi's markets, boosting sales for traders amid rising prices for fruits and festive items.
Confusing coalitions and absent accountability raise voter concerns as Mumbai's civic elections approach amidst air quality neglect.