Bengal's final phase: 26 crorepatis, 41 facing criminal cases in fray

BJP's P.C. Sorcar contesting from Barasat and Rahul Sinha from Kolkata North along with Congress' Dum Dum nominee Dhananjoy Mitra face cases relating to crimes against women.

As regards crorepati candidates, Trinamool leads here with 12 followed BJP (seven) and four each from the Congress and the CPI-M.

Shamali Das contesting from the twin seats of Jadavpur and Kolkata South with declared assets of worth over Rs.2,000 crore is the richest followed by Trinamool's Dev who possesses properties in excess of Rs.15 crore.

At the other end, Sougata Ghosh, contesting as an independent candidate from Diamond Harobour, has declared zero assets, while Indian Union Muslim League's Tamluk nominee Manik Chandra Mondal has assets valued at Rs.1,000.

As many as 77 of the contestants have not declared income tax details, while 27 of them did not provide their PAN details.

On the brighter side, 120 candidates are graduates or possess higher degrees.