According to the analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) of the self-sworn affidavits of 1,192 (of a total 1,198) candidates contesting in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls, 250, or 21 per cent, have declared criminal cases against themselves. There are 390 (33 per cent) candidates who have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore. The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha phase 2 is Rs 5.17 crore.
The top three candidates with highest declared assets in the phase two are Congress’ Mandya (Karnataka) candidate Venkataramane Gowda with Rs 622 crore worth of assets, followed by Congress’ Bangalore Rural candidate D K Suresh with Rs 593 crore worth of assets and BJP’s Mathura candidate Hema Malini, who has declared assets worth Rs 278 crore.
According to the ADR analysis, 574 (48 per cent) candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above, 363 (30 per cent) candidates have announced their age to be between 25 and 40 years while 578 (48 per cent) have declared their age to be between 41 and 60 years. There are 100 (8 per cent) female candidates who are contesting in the second phase polls.