Datanomics: 43% candidates in Phase-2 of Bihar polls are crorepatis

Ran Kaushal Pratap Singh of the Vikassheel Insaan Party tops the list with assets valued at Rs 368 crore

As many as 122 constituencies will go to polls in the second and final round of Bihar elections today (on Tuesday), when voters will decide the fate of 1,302 candidates in the fray. Of these, 43 per cent are crorepatis, an increase from 40 per cent reported in the first phase, according to poll watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Notably, 16 candidates in the second phase have assets worth over ₹50 crore. Among them, Ran Kaushal Pratap Singh of the Vikassheel Insaan Party tops the list with assets valued at ₹368 crore, followed by Nitish Kumar of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party with ₹250 crore, and Kumar Pranay of the Bharatiya Janata Party with ₹170 crore.

 

Bihar election 2025 exit poll results Live

Over the past two decades, spanning five election cycles, the proportion of crorepati candidates has surged nearly twentyfold. However, one should keep in mind that ₹1 crore in 2025 roughly carried the same value as ₹55.4 lakh in 2005 (on the basis of the wholesale price index-based inflation rate).  

 

 

There was no candidate with assets worth more than ₹50 crore in the 2005 polls. They are 16 now. And they have more than doubled from 6 in the previous election.

 

 

 

Between 2015 and 2025, the share of crorepati candidates rose from 75 per cent to 91 per cent in JDU, 65 per cent to 91 per cent in RJD, and 74 per cent to 89 per cent in LJP.

 

 

 

Among re-contesting candidates who were sitting MLAs in the last election, Anant Kumar Singh (JDU), Ajeet Sharma (INC), and Siddharth Saurav (BJP) have recorded the highest increase in declared assets.