Wealth creation by some Punjab MLAs over the last five years has been as high as returns from the stock market in the same period of time. An analysis of the assets of re-contesting MLAs by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows many MLAs from the state have been able to increase their wealth exponentially during their term. Here's a one-to-one comparison of few of the highest-earning stocks with the assets of Punjab MLAs over the last five years:
The price of one share of Adani Enterprises in February 2017 was approximately Rs 64 which has now crossed Rs 2,000 in February 2022. In simple terms, the returns on this stock are nearly 3000 per cent or 30 times what over the past five years. Interestingly, Professor Baljinder Kaur - AAP MLA from Talwandi Sabo - has seen a similar increase in wealth over the same period. Her assets increased from Rs 3 lakh in 2017 to Rs 1 crore as of February 2022, shows the ADR report.
Similarly, Kulwant Singh of AAP has also reported an increase in assets by nearly 700 per cent or over seven times that in 2017. His assets increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 17 lakh during his last tenure. This compares with returns from APL Apollo Tubes that saw shares jump from Rs 108 in 2017 to Rs 724 in 2022. Third on the list is the Congress MLA Santokh Singh from Baba Bakala constituency who has reported an increase of over 343% or threefold in his assets, as per the ADR report. His wealth increased from Rs 36 lakh to over Rs 1 crore, as per the report. This is comparable to the rally in P&G Health shares which increased from Rs 1,016 in February 2017 to over Rs 4,000 in 2022.
While the above MLAs saw the highest growth in assets in percentage terms, there are others who outshone them in terms of absolute money earned.
Sukhbir Singh Badal from the Jalalabad constituency tops the list. He has gained Rs 100 crore in net worth over the last five years, according to ADR. His current net worth is nearly Rs 200 crore. Congress MLA Manpreet Singh Badal from Bhatinda Urban constituency claimed an increase of over Rs 32 crore in net worth. His current net worth stands at Rs 72 crore, said the report.
Badal is followed by Aman Arora (AAP), Amarinder Singh (Former Chief Minister of the state), and Angad Singh (Congress) who have reported an increase in net worth by over Rs 10 crores in the last five years, according to the report.
Of all the re-contesting Punjab MLAs, 77 per cent (78 MLAs) have reported an increase in net worth, the ADR report said. On the other hand, 21 MLAs have reported a decrease in their assets over the last five years.
ADR analysis shows that six of the 101 re-contesting MLAs have reported an exponential growth in wealth of over 200 per cent or more in the last five years. Twelve MLAs have reported at least doubling of their assets during the same period. Forty five MLAs have reported an increase of up to 50 per cent in their assets during the last tenure.
