Navneet Rana’s wealth doubled in 5 years; VBA chief’s grew by only ₹70k
Candidates in Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections show significant wealth growth. BJP's Rana and Gadkari, VBA's Prakash Ambedkar among those with increased assets.
Mumbai: Affidavits filed by those in the fray for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election from Maharashtra indicate the wealth of nearly all candidates grew over the last five years. Among the more well-known candidates, former actor and BJP’s Amravati contestant Navneet Rana reported a nearly two-fold increase in wealth compared to 2019, while Nitin Gadkari, union transport minister and the BJP candidate from Nagpur, reported a nearly ₹3 crore increase since the last election. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar, who is contesting from Akola, disclosed assets worth ₹6.54 crore, an increase of about ₹70,000 from the declaration in his 2019 affidavit.
A total of 99 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of the election scheduled on April 19. For the second phase on April 26, 352 persons have filed nominations, but the last date for withdrawing candidature is still pending.
According to Rana’s affidavit, his wealth rose from ₹12.46 crore in 2019 to ₹23.38 crore in 2924. She has three flats in her name in Mumbai, including a 653-sqft flat in Goregaon, a 655-sqft flat in Patliputra society in Oshiwara, and a 1581-sqft apartment in Khar. She and her husband jointly own several hectares of agricultural, non-agricultural and commercial land in Amravati worth ₹2.02 crore. They also own four high-end vehicles and possess 920-gram gold worth ₹8.91 crore.
The actor-turned-politician has lent ₹1.10 crore to Rana Education Society, and ₹50 lakh to her father-in-law Gangadhar Rana, among others. She is an accused in four criminal cases registered in Amravati and Mumbai including for forging her caste certificate and issuing a call to chant the Hanuman Chalisa outside Uddhav Thackeray’s residence.
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, BJP’s candidate from Nagpur, has disclosed movable and immovable assets worth around ₹28 crore in the affidavit filed alongside his nomination papers on Wednesday, compared to ₹25.12 crore in 2019. According to the details in his affidavit, his movable assets are worth ₹1.32 crore, his wife’s movable assets are valued at ₹1.24 crore, and their Hindu undivided family holds movable assets worth ₹ 95.46 lakh.
According to Gadkari’s income tax returns for financial year 2022-23, his total income was ₹13.84 lakh, his wife’s income was ₹40.6 lakh, and the Hindu undivided family’s income was ₹8.2 lakh.
On the immovable assets front, Gadkari’s properties are worth ₹4.95 crore, his wife’s assets are valued at ₹7.99 crore, while the Hindu undivided family’s assets are worth ₹11.55 crore. The assets include 15.74 acres of prime agricultural land in Dhapewada, Nagpur, whose current market value is ₹1.79 crore; an ancestral house at Mahal, Nagpur, worth ₹5.14 crore; and a flat in Worli, Mumbai worth ₹4.95 crore. Gadkari has invested ₹3.55 lakh in savings schemes, mutual funds, bonds, and shares. His bank balance is ₹49 lakh, while his wife’s bank balance is ₹16 lakh. Both he and his wife wave three cars registered in tgheir name.
Gadkari’s main opponent in the election, Congress’ Vikas Thakre has disclosed movable assets worth ₹1.29 crore in his affidavit, while his wife possesses movable assets worth ₹1.42 crore.
VBA chief and Akola LS constituency candidate Prakash Ambedkar has declared a wealth of ₹6.54 crore in his affidavit, including immovable assets worth ₹4.45 crore. His wealth was ₹5.87 crore in 2019 and ₹3.57 crore in 2014. He faces six cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Bombay Police Act.