Being crorepati not benchmark for candidate's financial worth: ADR

Panaji, Feb 10 (IANS) Being a crorepati was not a good benchmark to judge the financial worth of an electoral candidate in this day and age, because most candidates who own a flat in metropolitan cities can be classified as crorepatis, an election watchdog official said Tuesday.

Bhasker Assoldekar, Goa coordinator for the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO which analyses details filed by candidates, said at a press conference here that the NGO was putting together a separate Rs.10 crore bracket to slot the "really rich" candidates.

"Being a crorepati is no longer a benchmark to judge the financial worth of a candidate. Anyone who has a flat in Delhi or Mumbai is a crorepati," he said.

In the Delhi assembly polls, 230 of the 673 candidates were listed as crorepatis, according to ADR's assessment of the affidavits filed by the candidates.

Assoldekar said a new category was being worked out by ADR to flag the "really super rich" candidates for forthcoming elections.

"We are creating a new category now for candidates whose worth is upwards of Rs.10 crore," he said.