Today marks the beginning of the first round of Lok Sabha elections in 21 states. The scope of the election is enormous, with 102 Lok Sabha seats, 16.63 crore voters, and 1.87 lakh voting places in the first round alone. The wealth profiles of the candidates, however, may be hidden beneath election campaigns and political rhetoric during the electoral process.
The top four richest candidates running in the first round of the elections are shown below:
Nakul Nath
The richest contender on the list is Congressman Nakul Nath. He presently represents Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, as a member of parliament, and he has reported assets of Rs 716 crore. He is the son of Kamal Nath, the former chief minister who has served in this capacity for more than 20 years.
Nakul Nath replaced his father in 2019 and was able to keep the seat for the Congress party, despite the BJP's victory in Madhya Pradesh.
Kumar Ashok
In the first round of voting, Ashok Kumar is running from the Erode seat. At an estimated net worth of Rs 662 crore, he is a member of the AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) political party. He hails from a political family and is the chairman of the Krishnagiri District Panchayat.
Yadav T. Dhevanathan
The BJP candidate has an enormous net worth of Rs 304 crore and is from the Tamil Nadu seat of Sivaganga. Initially, he created and belonged to the lower-level regional party Indhiya Makkal Kalvi Munnetra Kazhagam (IMKMK). To increase their influence over marginalized voters, national parties frequently seek partnerships with smaller parties.
Mala Lakshmi Shah Rajya
The BJP member is a candidate for the Uttarakhand district of Tehri Garhwal. Her assets are valued at more than Rs 206 crore, and she has been a member of the Lok Sabha since 2012. She had previously defeated Saket Bahuguna, a Congress candidate and the son of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna. However, Saket's participation in anti-party actions led to his eventual expulsion from the Congress party.