With assets worth ₹250 crore, real estate tycoon and former mayor Kulwant Singh, who is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Mohali Urban, is the richest among all those contesting the Punjab assembly elections from the district.
Mohali district comprises three assembly segments: Mohali Urban, Kharar and Dera Bassi. Another real estate baron Ranjit Singh Gill, who is contesting as a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate from Kharar, has assets worth ₹74 crore, while realtor NK Sharma, the sitting SAD legislator in the fray from Dera Bassi again, has assets worth ₹22 crore.
Kulwant Singh , in his nomination papers filed on Monday, has declared his wife and his combined moveable income as ₹204 crore and immovable income as ₹46 crore. In 2014, when he contested the Lok Sabha elections on the SAD ticket from Fatehgarh Sahib, his declared income was ₹139 crore.
Even as the Janta Land Promoters Limited (JLPL) owner drives a red Bentley that costs around ₹5 crore, he has mentioned no car but only two-wheelers among his assets. Kulwant said the car is registered in his company’s name, and the two-wheelers mentioned in the affidavit are driven by his children. His company has an annual turnover of ₹1,200 crore.
In 1988, Kulwant had developed a colony in Janta Nagar, Kharar, the first residential enclave to be approved in Punjab. In 1995, he expanded his business to Ludhiana. His political journey began when he contested the Mohali municipal committee elections in 1995 and won. He served as the senior vice-president in the MC from 1995 to 2000 and remained the president till 2005.
{{/usCountry}}In 1988, Kulwant had developed a colony in Janta Nagar, Kharar, the first residential enclave to be approved in Punjab. In 1995, he expanded his business to Ludhiana. His political journey began when he contested the Mohali municipal committee elections in 1995 and won. He served as the senior vice-president in the MC from 1995 to 2000 and remained the president till 2005.
{{/usCountry}}In 2014, he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Fatehgarh Sahib and later became Mohali’s first mayor in 2015. After remaining associated with various parties in the past and also floating his own Azad Group of independents in municipal elections, he joined the AAP last month.
MLA Balbir Sidhu’s assets see 165% rise
Former cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu also filed his nomination papers from the Mohali assembly seat, held by him for the past three terms, on Monday. The Congress leader declared assets worth ₹45 crore, up from ₹17 crore in 2017.
According to the affidavit, even Sidhu owns no car but has a tractor worth ₹2.5 lakh. He has also mentioned a murder case registered against him, in which the CBI gave him a clean chit.
Sidhu has been winning the Mohali seat since 2007, and after the Congress formed the government in 2017, he was awarded a cabinet berth. A liquor baron, he also owns agricultural and commercial properties in the region.
Talking to media after filing the nomination, Sidhu said that the Congress is again going to form the government in Punjab. “As far as the Mohali seat is concerned, we will win it again with a big margin,” he said. Last year, his younger brother Amarjeet Singh Sidhu was elected the Mohali mayor.
Deepinder Singh Dhillon, Congress candidate from Dera Bassi, also filed his nomination papers on Monday. HE has lost the last two elections to SAD’s NK Sharma.
According to Dhillon’s affidavit, he owns assets worth ₹17 crore, up from ₹8 crore in 2017. Among the moveable assets, Dhillon owns three cars: Toyota Fortuner (2012 model) worth ₹12 lakh, Toyota Innova ( 2017) worth ₹15 lakh and Nissan Micra (2011) worth ₹2.5 lakh.