As India begins voting for the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, poised to shape the nation's governance for the forthcoming years, attention turns not only to the political landscape but also to the economic indicators that influence voter sentiment. Against the backdrop of a vibrant stock market, where the Sensex and Nifty indices have surged impressively over the past year, the intersection of finance and politics becomes increasingly apparent. The benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty surged 21 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, in the last one year. Notably, the asset portfolios of key political figures contesting for parliamentary seats garner significant attention.
Since the nomination process for the 2024 general elections is still going on, not all candidates have filed their affidavits that include the candidate’s criminal record, total assets of the candidate, spouse and dependants, investments, liabilities, and other details.
Here’s a look at the stock portfolios of five prominent leaders contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to gain a deeper understanding of their financial positions and investments.
Rahul Gandhi
The former Congress President has filed his nomination papers from Wayanad in Kerala, the constituency he represents in the lower house of Parliament. He declared his total assets amounting to around Rs 20 crore. Gandhi has Rs 9.24 crore in moveable assets including Rs 55,000 in cash, Rs 26.25 lakh in bank deposits, Rs 4.33 crore in bonds and shares, Rs 3.81 crore in mutual funds, Rs 15.21 lakh in gold bonds and Rs 4.20 lakh in jewelry. Some of the stocks the Congress MP has invested in include Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, and Pidilite Industries Limited.
Tejasvi Surya
The BJP candidate from South Bangalore and the president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha has declared total movable assets have jumped 30 folds from Rs 13.46 lakh in 2019 to Rs 4.10 crore in 2024. According to the election affidavit filed by Surya, his main sources of income were salary as a Member of Parliament, Interest income, and dividend income.
The current market value of his stocks portfolio stands at Rs 1.79 crore including BSE Limited, Eveready Industries Limited, Indus Towers, and Strides Pharma, among others. The MF portfolio valued at around Rs 1.99 crore has 26 different funds, including Kotak Small Cap Fund, Canara Robeco Multi Cap Fund, HDFC Multi Cap Fund, and ICICI Prudential Small Cap Fund, among others.
Nakul Nath
The Congress MP is seeking a successive term from the Chhindwara constituency in Madhya Pradesh. According to his election affidavit, Nath declared assets worth around Rs 700 crore including movable property worth Rs 649.51 crore and immovable property worth Rs 48.07 crore. His wealth has increased by Rs 40 crore in the last five years. His equity portfolio worth Rs 5.40 crore has 31 stocks including Yes Bank, Reliance Industries, Adani Ports & SEZ, Lemon Tree Hotels, Vedanta, etc
The mutual portfolio worth Rs 1.12 crore has three funds, including HDFC Dividend Yield Fund – Regular Growth, SBI Contra Fund, and UTI Master Shares Unit Schemes.
Dayanidhi Maran
The sitting DMK MP has filed his nomination from the Chennai Central constituency in Tamil Nadu. Maran has declared movable and immovable assets worth Rs 7.81 crore and his spouse has declared assets worth Rs 4.73 crore. His equity portfolio worth Rs 84 lakhs has seven stocks with majority allocation to Reliance Industries, Jio Financial Services Limited, and Indian Energy Exchange.
Jyoti Mirdha
The BJP candidate from Nagaur in Rajasthan has declared total assets worth Rs 126 crore. As per the election affidavit, Mirdha has Rs 1.70 lakh in cash, while her husband has cash worth Rs 1.40 lakh. She owns movable assets worth Rs 4.23 crore including Rs 57.95 lakh in deposits, Rs 6.82 lakh in FDs, Rs 1.98 crore in sovereign gold bonds, and Rs 5.98 lakh crore in shares.
