Haryana assembly election: India's richest woman Savitri Jindal defies BJP to contest as Independent from Hisar

Savitri claimed she should be given one last chance to serve the people of Hisar and complete developmental works.

India's richest woman and chairperson of OP Jindal Group Savitri Jindal (74) filed her nomination papers from the Hisar seat to contest as an independent candidate in the Haryana assembly election.

India's richest woman Savitri Jindal (File)(ANI)

Savitri made the move after the ruling BJP denied her a ticket and fielded its minister Kamal Gupta from Hisar. “Hisar which is my family, is saying that the election has to be fought. I have to obey their wishes. I can’t say ‘no’. To honour their feelings, I will certainly contest the election,” Savitri said according to The Indian Express report.

The former Congress MLA made the move to pacify supporters who were upset after the BJP denied her the seat. When asked whether she rebelled against her party, she claimed she never joined the BJP officially. Her son Naveen Jindal is currently a BJP MP from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency. Naveen had quit the Congress and joined the saffron party ahead of the 2024 general elections. Days later, Savitri followed her son to join the party.

She claimed she did not discuss her plans with her son and is only doing what the people of Hisar want from her in her last electoral battle. “I have been in the public for the past 20 years to serve them. I should be given one chance to serve the public. Otherwise too, this is my last election. I want to complete unfinished works of Hisar’s public,” she told The Indian Express.

Being the only woman on the Forbes list of top 10 richest Indians, Savitri entered politics after her husband and Jindal Group founder OP Jindal's death. After winning a by-poll from Hisar in 2005, she served as a minister for nine years under Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government but lost the assembly election in 2014 to the incumbent state minister and BJP candidate Kamal Gupta.

The billionaire woman claimed she had not resigned from Congress and there were no talks with any other party. She also claimed to have good relations with Hooda saying, “He is my elder brother. When I entered politics, I was new. Since the beginning, he has taught me everything."

Savitri has declared assets worth ₹270.66 crore in her nomination papers, a growth of over 200% from ₹113 crore declared during the 2014 assembly elections.