[Assam] The jewel in the Assam politician’s crown -The Statesman

[Ram Sarangapani]

*"If an average candidate's wealth is calculated at Rs 10.12 lakh, his wife
is presented as being in possession of some Rs 27 lakh. " - The Statesman*
And yet, the voting public is extremely happy to re-elect these scoundrels
every election cycle.

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*The jewel in the Assam politician's crown*

Statesman News Service
GUWAHATI, March 24. — Assam is considered a poor state but its politicians
live lavishly — apparently because they are married to wealth.
These super-rich wives, not required to work for a living, are the
stay-at-home type, deigning sometimes to be associated with voluntary
organisations. Or, that is the impression which is being sought to be
created.
If their husbands have power, they have money; oodles of it, going by
affidavits submitted to the Election Commission by the more than 500
candidates in the first phase of the forthcoming Assembly polls.
Mandatory declarations indicate that the combined assets of the candidates'
wives would be worth Rs 266 crore.
The candidates' wealth adds up to a mere Rs 82 crore. And Mr Badarudin
Ajmal, perfume mogul who is also the president of the Assam United
Democratic Front (AUDF), alone accounts for Rs 16 crore of it. The
candidates claim to have an average of Rs 3 lakh in cash to fight
the elections but their wives are said to possess between Rs 6.3 lakh
and Rs 43 lakh, apart
from jewellery and other assets. If an average candidate's wealth is
calculated at Rs 10.12 lakh, his wife is presented as being in possession of
some Rs 27 lakh.
The candidates' ornaments total Rs 3.10 crore in value; their wives', Rs 35
crore. Most candidates have declared that their wives own houses and land in
many places.
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