Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India has fixed a ceiling of Rs 95 lakh for a candidate to spend on the Lok Sabha election campaign. Going by the assets declared by the candidates from the three main parties in Telangana state, all of them, except one, could manage to spend this amount.
Incidentally, among the three major parties, only the BRS has officially handed over cheques of Rs 95 lakh to each of its 17 candidates so far.
The total assets declared by 51 candidates from the Congress, BJP, and the BRS, along with MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, the lone AIMIM candidate, stand at Rs 3,953.49 crore. Of this, BJP candidates have a lion’s share at Rs 2,486.21 crore, with its Chevella candidate Konda Vishweshwar Reddy’s assets alone account for more than half at Rs 1,696 crore.
Incidentally, the BJP candidate’s declared assets are more than that of the Congress and BRS combine, which stand at Rs 709.25 crore and Rs 758.03 crore respectively.
The only candidate whose assets are less than the Election Commission-approved expenditure limit of Rs 95 lakh is Pothugani Bharath, a BJP candidate from Nagarkurnool, with a declared wealth of Rs 33 lakh. All other candidates, including Owaisi, have declared Rs 1 crore or more as their personal wealth, whether in moveable or immovable assets.
Whether the ECI limit of Rs 95 lakh is enough to cover a candidate’s campaigning cost in a Lok Sabha constituency that covers seven Assembly segments appears to be a moot question with leaders from different parties admitting that the campaign costs much more. But, when accounts are filed with the ECI, the expenditure limits are adhered to.
Top 5 candidates
Poorest
Constituency Candidate Party Assets
Nagarkurnool P. Bharat BJP Rs 33 lakh
Karimnagar Bandi Sanjay BJP Rs 1.12 cr
Nizamabad B. Goverdhan BRS Rs 1.41 cr
Nagarkurnool Praveen Kumar BRS Rs 1.41 cr
Warangal Dr Kadiam Kavya INC Rs 1.99 cr
Adilabad Athram Suguna INC Rs 2 cr
Richest
Chevella Konda Vishweshwar Reddy BJP Rs 1,696 cr
Chevella G. Ranjith Reddy INC Rs 294.47 cr
Hyderabad Madhavi Latha BJP Rs 221.39 cr
Khammam Nama Nageswara Rao BRS Rs 155.9 cr
Zaheerabad B.B. Patil BJP Rs 151.69 cr
