Maalamal in Gujarat: Who are the state's crorepati candidates?

Preparations for Gujarat Assembly polls are afoot and all the contending parties have declared their list of candidates some of whom are part of the billionaire’s club.

On Monday, Bhartiya Janata Party’s Jayanti Patel, the nominee from Mansa became the wealthiest candidate from Gujarat. His declared assets amounted to Rs 661 crore, according to his election affidavit.

According to a Times of India report, an analysis of election affidavits from 2012 and 2017 reveals that Patel has become the richest candidate in the state as of yet.

But the 64-year-old BJP party candidate is not the only member of the club. Let’s take a closer look at the big shots of the Gujarat Assembly polls.

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Jayanti Patel

The total declared assets of Jayanti Patel, which includes both immovable and movable properties, is Rs 661 crore. This sum also includes his wife, Anandiben Jayantibhai Patel’s assets.

Jayanti, a class tenth pass, has declared his movable assets to be worth as much as Rs 147 crore while the remaining Rs 514 crore is immovable. He also has liabilities worth Rs 233 crore.

A native of Ajol in Mansa, Patel’s annual income is Rs 44.22 lakh and his wife earns a whopping Rs 62.7 lakh per year. The family owns jewellery valued at Rs 1.2 crore.

“I am not aware if I am the richest candidate. I have been in the real estate business for three decades. My son and I have worked very hard to set up our business and today we are happy that it is a success,” he told the Times of India.

Balwantsinh Rajput

The next ‘richie rich’ candidate Balwantsinh Rajput, is a former tea seller who went from working in a handcart to becoming an edible oil tycoon.

Rajput, who is contesting on behalf of the BJP from Sidhpur in Patan district, has declared an asset worth Rs 447 crore. According to Indian Express, he is a proprietor of the Gokul Group and has movable assets valued at Rs 266 crore. These include agricultural and non-agricultural land parcels and a commercial building in Assam’s capital Guwahati which is currently worth Rs 13.81 crore.

Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj

A former Congress member, Rajput switched to BJP in 2017 and contested against Congress’ Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha.

His journey to become one of the wealthiest candidates began by selling beetle nuts and cigarettes in a handcart. “The handcraft is still preserved before my office in Siddhpur to remind me where I came from,” he told Economic Times.

Pabubha Manek

 Yet another BJP candidate from Dwarka, Pabubha Manek has declared assets worth Rs 178 crore. The leader has a liability amounting to Rs 1.74 crore.

In 2017, Manek had won the elections by a margin of over 5,000 votes. His fortunes have only seen an upward trend in the last 10 years as in 2012, he had reported assets worth Rs 31.66 crore.

According to a report by Scroll, his 2017 win was challenged by Congress leader Ahir Meramanibhai Marakhibhai which eventually resulted in a by-poll for the seat.

Indranil Rajguru

Not only BJP members are rich. Congress leader and candidate from East Rajkot, Indranil Rajguru has declared movable assets worth Rs 66.85 crore while his immovable assets are valued at Rs 92.99 crore.

Also read: Gujarat Assembly elections: Can Rivaba Jadeja hit it out of the park for the BJP?

Among his movable assets are 16 vehicles which include swanky cars like a BMW car, a BMW bike, an Audi car, a jeep, a couple of tractors, a Land Rover and a Volkswagen Beetle.

Rajguru has reportedly hopped from one party to another quite a few times this year when he joined Aam Aadmi Party in April before coming back to Indian National Congress in November.

Ramesh Tilala

A dropout from school who later became an industrialist, Ramesh Tilala, the BJP candidate from Rajkot South has recorded a total asset of Rs 175 crore out of which Rs 16.35 crore are movable assets which include those of his wife. His immovable assets are worth at Rs 156.42 crore.

Among his immovable properties are agricultural lands in Surat and Rajkot.

He is also a trustee of Shree Khodaldham Trust – a temple located in Rajkot

Jawahar Chavda

The 58-year-old BJP candidate from Manavadar seat in Junagadh, Jawahar Chavda has declared movable assets worth Rs 130 crore.

Of this total amount, Rs 25.49 crore is movable and Rs 104.66 crore is immovable.

His movable assets include five tractors and a watch worth Rs 85,000 while immovable assets include agricultural land parcels and commercial spaces.

With inputs from agencies

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