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The upcoming Haryana Assembly Elections 2024 are set to witness a contest amongst candidates with substantial financial resources. The average assets per candidate contesting in the election stands at a staggering ₹8.68 crore, highlighting the influence of wealth in the political landscape. According to an analysis conducted by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), based on self-sworn affidavits of 1028 out of 1031 candidates, Captain Abhimanyu from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerges as the wealthiest candidate with assets exceeding ₹491 crore. He is contesting from the Narnaund seat in the Hisar district.
Following closely behind Captain Abhimanyu are Rohtas Singh and Savitri Jindal. Rohtas Singh, contesting from the Sohna seat in Gurugram district, possesses assets exceeding ₹484 crore, only slightly lower than Captain Abhimanyu's. Meanwhile, Savitri Jindal, contesting from the Hisar constituency, boasts assets exceeding ₹270 crore. This concentration of wealth among the top candidates raises concerns about the potential impact of financial resources on electoral outcomes and the representation of diverse socioeconomic interests.
The ADR report further reveals that a significant proportion of the candidates are crorepatis. Out of the 1028 candidates, 538 (52%) are crorepatis, indicating a slight increase from the 2019 Assembly Elections, where 42% of the candidates were crorepatis. This trend of increasing wealth among candidates underscores the growing role of financial resources in electoral politics. Party-wise, the BJP leads with 96% crorepatis, followed by the Indian National Congress (INC) with 94% and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) with 70%. This data suggests that the BJP and INC are more likely to field candidates with substantial financial resources compared to other parties, which could have implications for their electoral strategies and campaign financing.