Following Parag Shah is Prashant Ramsheth Thakur of the BJP, contesting from Panvel in Raigad, who has declared assets worth Rs 475 crore.

BJP candidate Parag Shah, who is contesting from Ghatkopar East in Mumbai Suburban district, has emerged as the wealthiest candidate in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, with total assets worth an astounding Rs 3,383 crore. This was revealed in a recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Maharashtra Election Watch, based on the self-sworn affidavits of 2,201 candidates out of the total 4,136 contesting the elections.

The analysis focused on major political parties, including the BJP, Congress (INC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena, and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction, though due to time constraints, the affidavits of some candidates from smaller parties and independents were not included, the report said.

Of the 4,136 candidates, 490 belong to national parties, 496 are from state parties, 1,063 are from registered unrecognized parties, and 2,087 are independents.

Out of the 2,201 candidates whose affidavits were analysed, 829 (38%) are crorepatis, a notable increase from the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, where 32% of the 3,112 candidates were declared as crorepatis. The average assets per candidate for the 2024 elections stands at Rs 9.11 crore, a significant jump from the Rs 4.21 crore average seen in 2019.

Following Parag Shah is Prashant Ramsheth Thakur of the BJP, contesting from Panvel in Raigad, who has declared assets worth Rs 475 crore. Mangal Prabhat Lodha, another BJP candidate from Malabar Hill in Mumbai City, has assets worth Rs 447 crore.

Meanewhile, there are 26 candidates who have declared zero assets, and some have listed extremely low asset values, with the lowest being Rs 2,000.