E-Paper
Former Mohali mayor has ₹248-crore assets, but no car
Real-estate tycoon Kulwant Singh, who is heading the Azad group for the municipal corporation (MC) elections scheduled for February 14, has assets worth ₹248 crore in his name, but does not own a car
Real-estate tycoon Kulwant Singh, who is heading the Azad group for the municipal corporation (MC) elections scheduled for February 14, has assets worth ₹248 crore in his name, but does not own a car. The owner of Janta Land Promoters Limited (JLPL) only has two-wheelers registered in his name.
In an affidavit filed for elections, Kulwant declared that his income in 2019-20 was ₹18.47 crore, while his wife Jaswant Kaur’s earning was ₹14.11 lakh. The movable assets of the couple are worth ₹208 crore, while immovable properties have been pegged at ₹21.07 crore. In the nominations filed so far, Kulwant is the richest candidate.
Surprisingly, the former mayor drives a red Bentley that costs around ₹5 crore.
Kulwant said his car is registered in his company’s name and the two-wheelers he owns 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. Kulwant is not new to politics as his journey started around two decades ago when he contested the municipal committee elections in 1995 and won. He served as the senior vice-president in MC from 1995 to 2000 and remained the president till 2005.
In 2014, he unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections from Fatehgarh Sahib and later became first mayor of Mohali in 2015.
In the MC elections, Azad group is contesting on 35 seats and supporting AAP candidates on 15 seats.
Mohali’s civic body is elected for a period of five years, with the last term ending on April 26, 2020. In the 2015 elections, Kulwant had led the Azad group and won 10 seats. With the support of the Congress, he was elected as mayor. Later in 2017, he joined the SAD, but was expelled for ‘anti-party activities’. This time, he decided to contest the civic polls independently.
