LS polls: Richest candidate with assets worth Rs. 1,107 crore got 1,558 votes
New Delhi: It was a mixed outing for superrich candidates as five of them emerged victorious and an equal number suffered defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.
However, the country's richest candidate Ramesh Kumar Sharma, who fought independently from Bihar, lost his deposit, according to Election Commission data.
Among 10 top richest contestants in the country, three were from Andhra Pradesh, two each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, and one each from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana.
Prominent winners include Congress' Nakul Nath, son of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, while Jyotiraditya Scindia was among big losers, as per the EC data.
The country's richest candidate Ramesh Kumar Sharma, who fought as an independent from Patliputra parliamentary seat in Bihar, lost his deposit as he secured only 1,556 votes. Sharma had declared a net asset of Rs 1,107 crore in his nomination papers.
Congress' Uday Singh, the country's seventh richest candidate, lost with a huge margin of 2,63,461 votes from Purnia parliamentary seat in Bihar. He had a declared net asset of Rs 341 crore.
Among other losers, Congress' Konda Vishweshwar Reddy gave a tough fight for re-election from Chevella Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana, but lost to Telangana Rashtra Samithi's (TRS) candidate G Ranjith Reddy by a margin of 14,317 votes.
Vishweshwar, son-in-law of the Apollo Group chairman C Pratap Reddy, was the country's second richest candidate with total asset of over Rs 895 crore. He switched over to Congress from TRS in last December.
Another Congress candidate who lost terribly was Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was also the party election in charge for western Uttar Pradesh.
Scindia, the country's fifth richest candidate with a net asset of Rs 374 crore, lost by a huge margin of 1,25,549 votes from Guna parliamentary seat to his rival BJP candidate Krishna Pal Singh.
Industrialist Prasad Veera Potluri who contested on a YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) ticket lost by 8,726 votes from Vijayawada parliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh to his rival Telugu Desam Party (TDP) candidate Kerineni Srinivas.
Poluri, the country's sixth richest candidate with a net asset of Rs 347 crore, joined YSRCP this year. He is also the owner of the Hyderabad Hotshots, one of the six franchises of Indian Badminton League.
Among winners, Congress' Nakul Nath -- the country's third richest candidate with a declared net asset of over Rs 660 crore -- won by 37,536 votes from Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh.
Another from Congress Vasanthakumar H, the country's fourth richest candidate with a net asset of Rs 417 crore, won by a huge margin of 2,59,933 votes. He defeated BJP's Pon RadhaKrishan, who is minister of state for finance and shipping at the Centre.
Congress' D K Suresh also won with a huge margin of 2,06,870 votes from Bengaluru rural in Karnataka. Suresh had declared a net asset of Rs 338 crore and was the country's eighth wealthiest contestant in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Andhra Pradesh' two richest candidates Kanumuru Raghurama Krishna Raja and Jayadeva Galla have won the parliamentary election this time.
Raja, an industrialist from West Godavari district is the country's ninth richest contestant, and won by a margin of 31,909 votes from Nasapuram seat in the state. He has declared a net asset of Rs 325 crore.
Raja remained in the BJP till 2018. Last year, he joined the TDP but switched over to YSRCP this year.
Galla, an industrialist and owner of Amara Raja Batteries, gave tough fight for re-election from the Guntur parliamentary constituency. He won by 4,205 votes.
He was the country's tenth wealthiest candidate in the polls with a declared net asset of over Rs 305 crore.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
