The second phase of General Election 2024 has no dearth of wealthy candidates. From a newbie politician Venkataramane Gowda to actor-turned-politician Hema Malini and MS Ramaiah’s grandson, the list had around ten candidates with assets worth more than ₹100 crore. Here’s a closer look at their profiles.
The richest among them is Congress’ Mandya candidate Venkataramane Gowda. Popularly known as Star Chandru, he seems to be a political greenhorn. Gowda and his family own assets worth ₹623 crore, and going by his affidavit, his most expensive assets are the shares of a lesser-known infrastructure company, Star Infratech, that his wife owns. Gowda joined the company as a managing partner in 2011. In 2021, the company bagged the contract to develop and rejuvenate the Koramangala (K-100) valley, according to news reports. Star Chandru is the brother of K.H. Puttaswamy Gowda, independent MLA of Gauribidanur.
The next on the list is former Congress MP DK Suresh, the brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. Suresh has assets worth ₹593.05 crore with his most expensive possession being Global Mall, Gopalapura. According to the Lulu group’s website, this is where the Lulu Mall Bengaluru operates. Suresh’s 2019 affidavit shows that in five years, his wealth has grown by 75 per cent. It is noteworthy that his brother DK Shivakumar is the richest MLA in India.
After Suresh comes actor-turned-BJP MP Hema Malini, who is contesting again from her incumbent seat in Mathura. Malini has around ₹279 crore worth of assets. Of this, the bungalow in Juhu, her husband Dharmendra, is her most expensive possession. She saw her wealth grow by ₹28 crore in the last five years. A candidate’s asset is the sum of everything they, their spouse and dependents (also Hindu Undivided Family in some cases) own.
She is followed by Congress’ Madhya Pradesh candidate Sanjay Sharma, with assets worth ₹232.72 crore. He contested the 2018 Madhya Pradesh elections and according to the declaration, his wealth grew by more than ₹100 crore in six years,.
The fifth richest candidate is former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy. Kumaraswamy is also a candidate from Mandya, where he will face Venkataramane Gowda. While he now has assets worth ₹217.23 crore, this is a 15 per cent growth compared to how much he owned during the 2023 Karnataka elections.
The others in the richest ten list include BJP MP Kanwar Singh Tanwar and MS Ramaiah’s grandson Raksha Ramaiah, a Congress candidate from Karnataka’s Chikkballapur. Another prominent face is former Congress spokesperson and academician MV Rajeev Gowda, contesting from Bangalore North.