Lok Sabha polls: Nakul Nath declares assets worth Rs 700 crore

Lok Sabha polls: Nakul Nath declares assets worth Rs 700 crore

Bhopal, Mar 28 (PTI) Nakul Nath, the lone Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh who has been renominated from Chhindwara by his party, has declared assets worth nearly Rs 700 crore, according to his election affidavit.

Nath is among the 113 candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in the central state on April 19. The filing of nomination papers for this phase drew to a close on Wednesday.

As per his affidavit, Nakul Nath’s wealth has gone up by Rs 40 crore in the past five years.

In his latest submission to the Election Commission, Nakul Nath has declared movable property, including cash, shares and bonds, worth Rs 649.51 crore and Rs 48.07 crore of immovable property.

The sitting Chhindwara MP, son of former chief minister and influential Congress leader Kamal Nath, had topped the list of 475 Lok Sabha crorepati members in 2019, according to the non-profit Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).

According to ADR, the entrepreneur politician had declared assets worth Rs 660 crore in 2019 when he contested from Chhindwara, the pocket borough of his father, and emerged as the only Congress winner in the state.

That year, the BJP had won 28 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Kamal Nath, who successfully contested from Chhindwara, had declared assets worth Rs 134 crore in his poll affidavit ahead of last year’s assembly elections, according to ADR.

Notably, Nakul Nath frequently uses an aircraft but does not have a car, according to his affidavit.

To breach the citadel of the Naths, the BJP is raking up Kamal Nath’s flying machines to script a narrative of wealthy-versus-commoner after pitting its candidate Vivek Sahu against Nakul Nath.

The Congress has been on a winning streak from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat since 1952, it has lost just once to the BJP. Kamal Nath had won this seat for a record nine times.

“A big Congress leader. A very big leader… keeps two, not one, helicopters at his house. When he returns, he lands the chopper right inside his home. He had been an MP chief minister,” Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had said at an election rally in Sidhi recently.

Yadav said his government had decided that there would be a helicopter but the poor will have access to it. “To rush poor people to hospitals for urgent treatment,” Yadav had said, seeking to shed light on the state’s recently launched air ambulance service for citizens during medical emergencies.

BJP candidate Sahu has also attacked the former CM over his helicopter use during public outreaches. According to locals, Nath has two helipads at his residence in the Shikrapur area of Chhindwara.