The affidavits filed by various candidates in the Lok Sabha elections show a steady rise in their assets.
The affidavits show some very interesting inferences. The assets of Congress candidate from Belagavi Mrinal Hebbalkar have increased three-fold in three years. The 31-year-old civil engineer owns or manages sugar factories and a real estate and development firm. He filed income tax returns for ₹11.7 lakh in 2019-20, but it rose to ₹29.3 lakh in 2022-23.
Interestingly, the total assets declared by the young Congress leader and his political opponent and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar are nearly equal. The total asset value of Mr. Hebbalkar is around ₹13.6 crore and that of Mr. Shettar is around ₹13.8 crore. A large portion of Mr. Hebbalkar’s assets are inherited. He has a debt of around ₹6 crore.