The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recorded a resounding victory in Uttar Pradesh, winning 255 of the 403 seats in the state. In doing so, Yogi Adityanath became the first-ever BJP Chief Minister of the state to complete the full five-year term. This will also be the first time since 1985 when a Chief Minister will return to power in the state.
The U.P. elections witnessed a large number of wealthy candidates in the fray. According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, 13% of the candidates declared assets worth ₹5 crores or more. Out of 4,406 candidates, 1,733(39%) are valued at over ₹1 crore. This number was at 1,457 out of 4,823 in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections.
Here’s a look at how the candidates who declared over ₹100 crores in assets performed in the elections.
Nawab Kazim Ali Khan
Congress candidate Nawab Kazim Ali Khan was the richest candidate to contest in the U.P. elections. Mr. Khan declared assets over ₹296 crores in his nomination affidavit, which included non-agricultural land worth over ₹224 crores among other things. He is also a member of the erstwhile royal family of Rampur.
Mr. Khan contested from Rampur constituency and lost to Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate and founding member Azam Khan.
Shah Alam
Shah Alam, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate from Mubarakpur, is another member of the ₹100-crore club for candidates of the UP election. Mr. Alam declared bonds, debentures, and shares in companies valuing over a total of ₹185 crores owned by him and his wife. His total assets were over ₹195 crores.
Mr. Alam lost by a huge margin in his constituency, securing only 16% of the votes. SP’s Akhilesh emerged victorious in Mubarakpur.
Supriya Aron
Most of Ms. Aron’s assets declared in her nomination affidavit are in the name of her husband Praveen Singh Aron who is also a former Member of the Parliament. Mr. Aron holds commercial buildings whose current market value is over ₹ 100 crores. Both Ms. Aron and Mr. Aron were leaders of the Congress and had joined SP right before the 2022 UP Assembly elections.
Ms. Aron’s total declared assets are upward of ₹157 crores. She put up a close fight in the Bareilly Cantt. constituency but eventually lost to BJP’s Sanjeev Agarwal.
Amit Agarwal
BJP’s Meerut Cantt. candidate Amit Agarwal declared assets worth more than ₹148 crores. He runs a real estate business, has agricultural income, and also earns pension as a former MLA.
Mr. Agarwal won the election with 66% votes in his constituency.
Devender Nagpal
BJP’s Devender Nagpal has a considerable part of his assets in the form of real estate, including agricultural and non-agricultural land, and commercial and residential buildings. Mr. Nagpal’s total declared assets are worth over ₹140 crores.
The candidate lost to SP’s Samarpal Singh by a margin of 6,540 votes
S.K. Sharma
Bahujan Samaj Party candidate from Mathura S.K. Sharma declared assets worth more than ₹112 crores. Like Mr. Nagpal from BJP, most of Mr. Sharma’s financial assets are also in the form of real estate holdings.
Mr. Sharma could only garner around 12% of the votes in his constituency and finished third. BJP’s Shrikant Sharma won in Mathura.
Rahul Yadav
SP candidate Rahul Yadav made it to the ₹100-crore club by declaring assets a little over the benchmark. He has agricultural land and commercial buildings worth ₹99 crores, and investments like jewellery, motor vehicles, and bank deposits.
Mr. Yadav secured 35.26% votes in Sikandrabad but lost to BJP’s Lakshmi Raj who secured 46% of the votes.
