By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : At least 35 candidates contesting in the first phase of assembly elections Thursday in Orissa have disclosed nil assets, a voluntary body Orissa Election Watch (OEW) said Wednesday.
The state will elect 121 members to the state assembly and 21 members to Lok Sabha simultaneously on April 16 and April 23.
About 12,650,750 voters will decide the fate of 72 candidates for 10 Lok Sabha seats and 599 candidates for 70 assembly constituencies in the first phase.
“Thirteen candidates who have declared nil assets are contesting the election as independents,” OEW coordinator Ranjan Mohanty told IANS.
He said the three major parties Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) have fielded one candidate each who claimed in their affidavits that they have nil assets.
Similarly, four candidates contesting on the Samajwadi Party tickets have disclosed nil assets. Others who have declared nil assets are contesting from smaller regional parties.
Among the candidates contesting the first phase election for Lok Sabha only one has declared nil assets. He is contesting on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket from Sundergarh seat.