Our Bureau The biggest spenders on Jharkhand Assembly elections last year were neither the richest nor those whose assets had grown exponentially in the first five years that they got elected as MLAs.
An analysis of election expenditure by candidates in the Assembly polls in November-December, 2019 by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) showed that the top three spenders were Dilip Mahato and Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Mehta of the BJP and Deepika Pandey Singh of the Congress. Dilip Mahato, who contested the Baghmara seat, spent ₹24.60 lakh and Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Mehta spent ₹22.89 lakhs for his election from Panki. Deepika Pandey Singh was the third highest spender with ₹21.89 lakh expense on her election from Mahagama.
None of these three figure among the richest contestants in the State.
Topping the charts in the group of re-contesting MLAs whose income and assets had shown the highest increase in 2015-2019 was Manish Jaiswal, BJP MLA from Hazaribagh. In 2014, Jaiswal’s salary, remuneration, share of profit and other sources were cumulatively valued at ₹18.26 crore. When he re-contested the seat in 2019, Jaiswal’s assets were valued at ₹27.04 crore, showing an increase of over ₹8 crore. An MLA’s salary in Jharkhand is ₹2.25 lakh.
Similarly, the present Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s asset increase between 2014-2019 was from ₹5 crore to ₹8 crore.
But neither Jaiswal, who re-contested from Hazaribagh, nor Soren seem to have figured in the list of top spenders during the elections.
In fact, the average election expense of 81 MLAs in the Jharkhand assembly was ₹14.64 lakhs which is 52 per cent less than even the expense limit of ₹28 lakh per constituency in Jharkhand.
Then there were those who spent less than even the average expense of ₹14 lakh. Jigasusaran Horo from Sisai spent ₹4 lakh on his election while Sita Murmu spent ₹6 lakh and got elected from Jama and Bhushan Tirkey spent ₹8 lakh for his election from Gumla assembly constituency.