Nakul Nath, who is contesting from Chhindwara, has declared the highest Rs 716 crore worth of assets in his election affidavit, according to poll rights body - the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath is the richest candidate among all contesting in phase 1 of the Lok Sabha elections. Nakul Nath, who is contesting from Chhindwara, has declared the highest Rs 716 crore worth of assets in his election affidavit, according to poll rights body - the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Chhindwara is the stronghold of the Congress party, which has held the seat since 1952. The seat was briefly represented by the BJP in 1997. Nakul Nath's father and veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath represented this seat for over two decades - from 1998 to 2019. Nakul replaced his father from the seat in 2019 when he retained the seat for the grand old party despite the Modi wave in Madhya Pradesh.
AIADMK' Erode (Tamil Nadu) candidate Ashok Kumar is the second richest candidate in Phase-1. He has declared assets worth Rs 662 crore. BJP candidate Dhevanathan Yadav T, contesting from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, has assets worth Rs 304 crore, the ADR said.
BJP's Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah, who is contesting from Tehri Garhwal, has assets worth Rs 206 crore. In fifth position is Majid Ali of the BSP. He has declared assets worth Rs 159 crore.
The ADR said its analysis of candidates going to polls in the first phase highlights wealth disparities. Around 28 per cent of candidates in the polls' first phase are "crorepatis" with assets exceeding Rs 1 crore. The average assets per candidate stands at Rs 4.51 crores, with notable discrepancies observed across party lines, the ADR found.
The analysis showed that among the major parties, more than Rs 1 crore assets have been declared by all four candidates of the RJD, 35 of 36 candidates of the AIADMK, 21 of 22 candidates of the DMK, 69 of 77 candidates of the BJP, 49 of 56 candidates of the Congress, four of five candidates of the TMC and 18 of 86 candidates of the BSP.
Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning on April 19 and the counting of votes will take place on June 4. The other phases will be held on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
