Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 2: From ₹622 cr to ₹500 — Wealthiest to poorest candidates

A total of 88 constituencies across 12 states and one union territory are polling in this phase.

Voting commenced for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday morning. A total of 88 constituencies across 12 states and one union territory are polling in this phase.

Polling began at 7 am in all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Bihar and Assam, and three seats each in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, one seat each in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur and Tripura.

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A total of 15.88 crore voters are eligible to exercise their voting rights in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections. This includes 8.08 crore male voters, 7.8 crore female voters, and 5,929 third-gender electors spread across 1.67 lakh polling stations. Among them are 34.8 lakh first-time voters and 3.28 crore young voters aged between 20 and 29 years.

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In this phase, 1,202 candidates are contesting, comprising 102 women and two individuals from the third-gender category.

Let's take a look at the wealthiest and least wealthy candidates in Phase 2 of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Wealthiest candidates

1. Congress leader Venkataramane Gowda or 'Star Chandru', who is contesting against JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy from Karnataka's Mandya Lok Sabha seat, is the richest candidate in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections with assets worth over ₹622 crore, as per the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report which analysed self-sword affidavits by candidates. As per ADR, Gowda's movable assets are worth ₹2,12,78,08,148 and immovable are worth ₹4,10,19,20,693, his total assets standing at ₹6,22,97,28,841.
2. Karnataka Congress MP DK Suresh, with a worth of ₹593 crore, is the second richest candidate. Younger brother of Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Suresh is a three-time MP running for re-election from the Bangalore Rural seat. His assets increased 75 per cent in the last five years.
3. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hema Malini, who is contesting again for Uttar Pradesh's Mathura Lok Sabha seat, ranks as the third wealthiest candidate, possessing assets valued at ₹278 crore.
4. Sanjay Sharma, a Madhya Pradesh Congress candidate, holds the fourth position, declaring assets valued at ₹232 crore. In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh elections, he contested, and as per the declaration, his wealth increased by over ₹100 crore within six years.
5. Former Karnataka CM and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is the fifth wealthiest candidate with total assets valued at approximately ₹ 217.21 crore, which is a 15 per cent increase compared to his assets during the 2023 Karnataka elections.

Others in the top richest list include BJP MP Kanwar Singh Tanwar and Raksha Ramaiah, the grandson of MS Ramaiah and a Congress candidate from Karnataka's Chikkballapur, and Former Congress spokesperson and academician MV Rajeev Gowda, who is contesting from Bangalore North.

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Least wealthy candidates

1. Independent candidate Laxman Nagorao Patil, contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Nanded in Maharashtra, holds the lowest assets among others in the second phase. His poll affidavit indicates assets worth ₹500.
2. Rajeswari KR from Kerala's Kasaragod, who is also contesting as an independent candidate, has declared assets worth ₹1,000.
3. Another independent candidate Pruthvisamrat Mukindrao Dipwansh, contesting from Maharashtra's Amravati (SC) seat, is the third on the list with assets worth ₹1,400.
4. Shahnaz Bano, the Dalit Kranti Dal leader contesting from Rajasthan's Jodhpur, has declared assets worth ₹2,000. As per ADR data, Bano is a housewife and has studied till 8th standard. Her spouse is a social worker.
5. VP Kochumon, a member of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) and contesting from Kerala's Kottayam, holds the fifth position on the list with assets worth ₹2,230.

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