BHUBANESWAR: The election affidavits of two contestants — Naba Kishore Das and Kalikesh Singh Deo — point to massive wealth accumulated by their spouses . Both candidates will contest from western Odisha, which has long been considered poverty-stricken.Minati Das, the wife of Naba Kishore, BJD’s nominee for the Jharsuguda assembly seat, has over Rs 10 crore worth of private cars and luxury vehicles, while Meghna Rajlaxmi Rana, the wife of ‘royal’ scion and Balangir Lok Sabha candidate from BJD, Kalikesh Narayan Singhdeo, possesses jewellery worth Rs 1.22 crore, the affidavits show.Among the jewellery items listed by Kalikesh as belonging to his wife is a polki set worth Rs 10.12 lakh. The list includes diamond tops and an emerald set worth Rs 9.90 lakh and Rs 8.80 lakh, respectively, 24 items made of metal and gemstone, a diamond solitaire ring, pearl and diamond sets, diamond tops and sapphire and diamond sets. She also has nearly Rs 9 crore worth of non-agricultural and commercial land, besides private plots and flats and Rs 11 lakh in the form of shares, debentures and bonds.Kalikesh married Meghna, a member of the Rana royal family of Nepal and the daughter of Major Bahadur Singh Rana, in 2008. She now campaigns for her husband and was seen with her mother-in-law Vijaylaxmi Devi in the procession that followed Kalikesh as he went to file his nomination papers. He had earlier said the jewellery possessed by his wife had been gifted to her by her parents.According to the affidavit submitted by Naba Kishore, Minati bought a Jaguar in October 2013 for Rs 50 lakh, which is now Rs 28 lakh as per current market price. She also has in her name a 2012 model Audi, whose current value is Rs 15.23 lakh, besides 10 private vehicles bought all at once in 2018 and 21 Hyva (a transportation vehicle). Their total cost is nearly Rs 9.33 crore.Naba Kishore, who recently quit Congress and joined BJD, won the 2009 elections from the Jharsuguda assembly seat. After fielding him from Jharsuguda, BJD had to shift party loyalist Kishor Mohanty, who also enjoys a good support base in Jharsuguda, to Brajarajnagar.

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