Mohit Kamboj, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Mumbai’s Dindoshi constituency is the richest candidate in the Maharashtra Assembly election. Mr. Kamboj has declared assets worth Rs. 353.53 crore.
As per the affidavit, Mr. Kamboj has not completed his graduation and has business interests in real estate and jewellery. “Earning money is not a crime. I know how to use it for the welfare of the people,” Mr. Kamboj told The Hindu .
The second richest candidate too belongs to the BJP and is also a well-known builder, Mangalprabhat Lodha. The sitting MLA from South Mumbai’s Malbar Hill constituency, he has declared assets worth Rs. 198.61 crore.
Down the list, Abu Asim Azmi of the Samajwadi Party has declared assets worth Rs. 156.11 crore and Vijay Sawant of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has property worth Rs. 148.69 crore.
The poorest candidate among the national parties belongs to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Narayan, contesting from Mumbai’s Andheri (West) constituency has declared assets worth Rs. 15,924. “I believe that people will fund my campaign. I have nothing to lose,” he said.
Jailed gangster Arun Gawli’s daughter Geeta Gawli who is supported by the Sena, ranks second in the list of poorest candidates, with property worth Rs. 1.29 crore.
Among the senior political leaders from the Congress, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has declared assets worth Rs. 13.82 crore. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is worth Rs. 38.83 crore. Another NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal has declared property worth Rs. 21.91 crore. Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra unit president of the BJP, has declared assets worth Rs. 1.97 crore.
Interestingly, former cop Pradeep Sharma who is known for a number of encounters during his tenure, owns property worth Rs. 38.43 crore.