AT ₹197 CR, HARSIMRAT RICHEST CANDIDATE IN FRAY

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and three-time MP Harsimrat Badal is the richest candidate in the fray for the June 1 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, followed by sitting MP Preneet Kaur and Bolath MLA Sukhpal Khaira of the BJP and Congress, respectively.

Harsimrat, who is again contesting from Bathinda, has declared assets worth ₹197 crore, including those of her husband Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, according to an election affidavit submitted by her to the Election Commission along with nomination papers. These include Sukhbir’s Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) assets worth ₹62.70 crore. She has declared movable and immovable assets totalling ₹51.58 crore, while Sukhbir’s assets are worth ₹84 crore.

The assets declared by the 57-year-old Akali leader are the highest from among the 328 contestants in the race for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, according to an analysis of the election affidavits of the candidates by HT reporters.

In her election affidavit, Harsimrat has declared gold, silver, stone and diamond jewellery worth over ₹7 crore. The Badal couple has agricultural, non-agricultural, and residential properties in Muktsar, Sirsa, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Chandigarh. According to the affidavit, their combined liabilities stand at ₹54.47 crore, including ₹15.74 crore under HUF, in the form of loans. In the 2019 parliamentary polls, she had declared combined declared assets of ₹217 crore, including ₹102 crore under HUF.

A former Union minister and four-time MP, Preneet Kaur, who is the BJP candidate from Patiala, has declared total assets worth ₹60.64 crore, including HUF assets worth ₹52.7 crore. While Kaur and her husband, ex-chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, have movable assets totalling ₹9.18 crore, their immovable assets are worth ₹51.46 crore. Their HUF assets include the New Moti Bagh Palace, including staff houses, valued at ₹35 crore, in Patiala. Kaur joined the BJP from the Congress in March this year. In the previous parliamentary polls, she declared assets worth ₹63.5 crore.

Khaira, the Congress nominee from Sangrur, is not far behind, with assets, including spouse’s, worth ₹50 crore, which is down from ₹59.87 crore declared by him in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. While the three-time MLA has declared movable assets worth ₹1.12 crore, his immovable assets stand at ₹48.9 crore. These three top the list of crorepati contestants which also include former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu (BJP), realtor-turned-politician NK Sharma (SAD), former minister Vijay Inder Singla (Congress), and Kushal Pal Singh Mann (SAD-Amritsar).

10 richest candidates

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, SAD, Bathinda

Assets: ₹197 crore

Preneet Kaur, BJP, Patiala

Assets: ₹60.64 crore

Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Congress, Sangrur

Assets: ₹50.02 crore

Taranjit Singh Sandhu, BJP, Amritsar

Assets: ₹40 crore

NK Sharma, SAD, Patiala

Assets: ₹32.21 crore

Vijay Inder Singla, Congress, Anandpur Sahib

Assets: ₹31.29 crore

Kushal Pal Singh Mann, SAD (Amritsar), Anandpur Sahib

Assets: ₹30.4 crore

Jeet Mohinder Sidhu, Congress, Bathinda

Assets: ₹27.38 crore

Arvind Khanna, BJP, Sangrur

Assets: ₹27.04 crore

Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, BJP, Ferozepur

Assets: ₹24.29 crore

Read more news like this on HindustanTimes.com

2024-05-17T23:47:01Z dg43tfdfdgfd