Sudesh Mahto confident in his voters

Sudesh Mahto, Deputy Chief Minister Of Jharkhand can count on support from the significant numbers of Kurmi and Koeri voters here and also claims that he will be getting votes cutting across caste lines as it is his work which speaks for itself.

"We are the sons of the soil. We are very simple and would remain such. We can't afford to buy votes through money raised from the exploitation of people," he said.

As he attempts to win the contest here against big names, it is his wife who is also contributing financially to his election fund. "If I will not support him, who else will," said Molani Devi.

The combined assets of the couple stand at Rs 2.67 crore, but Mahto says it is agriculture which is his passion. His two sons run a HP petrol pump in Barkagaon.

In his affidavit to Election Commission, Mahto has declared that he has Rs 1 lakh cash while cash in Molani Devi's hand is shown to be Rs 50,000. His total income for 2012-13 was Rs 8.98 lakh.

His movable assets were valued at Rs 9.55 lakh while those of his spouse were assessed to be worth Rs 2.83 lakh.

Mahto also owns 10 acres of agricultural land. The value of Mahto's immovable assets stands at Rs 1.83 crore while that of his wife is Rs 36 lakh. The liabilities, including that for a bank loan for a vehicle, stand at Rs 2.36 lakh.