156 multi-millionaires in Goa poll fray

As many as 156 of the 251 candidates in the February 4 Goa assembly elections are crorepatis or multi-millionaires, an analysis of the information furnished by candidates in their election affidavits revealed.

The data analysis, released by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Tuesday, showed that 97 per cent of candidates of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are multi-millionaires, followed by the Congress at 92 per cent and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with 52 per cent.

Ranjit Cotta Carvalho (AAP) leads the pack with the highest declared assets of over Rs 65 crore, Michael Vincent Lobo (BJP) with over Rs 54 crore and Pratapsingh R. Rane (Congress) with over Rs 50 crore.

The percentage of candidates with pending criminal cases is quite low. Only 38 out of the 251 candidates (15 per cent) have declared criminal cases against them. A total of 19 candidates (8 per cent) have serious criminal charges against them.

Party-wise, most candidates with criminal cases are from the Congress (9 of 37, or 24 per cent), followed by the BJP (17 per cent) and the AAP (8 per cent).

As for candidates with serious criminal charges against them, the Congress again tops the list with 16 per cent, while for the BJP it is 8 per cent. No AAP candidate has serious criminal charges against him or her.

Polling for the 40-seat Goa assembly is slated for February 4. The counting will take place on March 11.

--IANS

mak/tsb/bg