J&K Apni Party’s Altaf Bukhari Richest Candidate from Kashmir, BJP’s Devender Singh Wealthiest from Jammu: ADR

Almost half of the candidates in Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections are crorepatis and the average assets of these candidates stand at Rs 3.65 crore. However, only three of the leaders have total assets more than Rs 100 crore, according to a new report from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Jammu & Kashmir Election Watch released on Monday.

A total of 872 candidates were analysed in the report and 410 (47 per cent) are crorepatis.

Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, contesting from Channapora in Srinagar, is the richest man in the fray, with total assets worth Rs 165 crore. The second-richest is Tariq Hameed Karra contesting from Srinagar’s Central Shalteng. The Congress leader has assets worth Rs 148 crore. The third-richest candidate in the fray is BJP’s Devender Singh Rana, the brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh. Contesting from Jammu’s Nagrota, Rana has assets worth Rs 126 crore — highest from the Jammu region.

On the other hand, BJP’s local unit president Ravinder Raina, contesting from Rajouri’s Nowshera, is among the poorest candidates, with just Rs 1,000 with him. Except those with zero assets, Raina is the second-poorest candidate in the fray after Mohd Akram contesting from Poonch’s Surankote.

“The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Jammu & Kashmir Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 872 out of 873 candidates, who are contesting in the Jammu & Kashmir 2024 Assembly Elections Phase I to III. Of 873 contesting candidates, 137 are from national parties, 205 are from state parties, 185 are from registered unrecognised parties. At least 346 candidates are contesting independently,” the report reads.

The report says at least 152 (17 per cent) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. In 2014 elections, of 831 candidates analysed, 49 (6 per cent) had declared criminal cases against themselves.

“A total of 114 (13 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases. In 2014, 33 (4 per cent) candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves,” it said.

At least 12 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307) against themselves while 15 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women, including three with declared charges related to rape (IPC Section-376).

Of 90 seats, 24 (27 per cent) are Red Alert constituencies — where three or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

As per the report, 407 (47 per cent) candidates have declared their educational qualifications to be between 5th and 12th standard while 436 (50 per cent) candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above.

“A total of 15 candidates are Diploma holders. One candidate has declared himself to be just literate and 13 candidates are illiterates,” it said.

As many as 287 (33 per cent) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 40 years while 411 (47 per cent) candidates have declared their age to be between 41 to 60 years. There are 174 (20 per cent) candidates who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years.

The report also says that just five per cent of the candidates are female. Last week, News18 had reported that despite the share of women in the voters’ list being almost at par with men in Jammu and Kashmir, political parties across the spectrum failed this time when it comes to fielding female candidates. Of every 100 candidates contesting the polls, just five are women, and half of them are fighting independently.

While the first phase of polling has been completed in J&K, the second phase will be held on September 25. The third and last phase will be held on October 1 and counting of votes will take place on October 8.