Political entrepreneurs: Amassing enormous wealth -II
There are many examples to show that these political entrepreneurs and their supporters, the bureaucrats, get involved in various kinds of scams and nefarious activities.
TO EXEMPLIFY what we have said above let us look at what has happening in India, and the trend continues even now. There are many examples to show that these political entrepreneurs and their supporters, the bureaucrats, get involved in various kinds of scams and nefarious activities. Apart from the political entrepreneurs, there are many other people (especially in the corporate world) who get involved in scams and what not. Let us first look at the political entrepreneurs.
You may not be able to say this about India, but its politicians are certainly shining. Check out the assets declared by candidates in this year's election so far and compare it to what was declared by them in the last election and you will find a quantum jump in their wealth. In certain cases, the figure has risen by as much as a mind-numbing 3000%.
The richest candidate so far, going by assets declared, is Lagadapati Rajagopal, the owner of power generation and infrastructure company Lanco, and the Congress candidate from Vijayawada. He has shown assets worth Rs 299 crore. In 2004, he had declared assets worth just Rs 9.6 crore. In other words, during the five-year UPA rule, his assets went up 30 times or by almost 3000%.
Rajagopal isn't the only politician whose wealth has grown. It's a general trend. There are many more who have bigger assets than the Rs 67 crore declared by D K Adikesavulu, the richest MP in the last election.
Samajwadi Party's Abu Azmi, for instance, recently declared his assets that are worth Rs 124 crore while filing his nomination from Mumbai North-West.
Then there's Karan Singh Tanwar, BSP's candidate from South Delhi. He had declared his assets while filing his nomination for the recently held Delhi assembly election - it was Rs 150 crore..
A lot of political fat cats come from Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy might have assets worth just Rs 1.35 crore, but his son, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is much richer - he has declared assets worth Rs 77 crore.
Telugu film star Chiranjeevi, who has floated his own party, Praja Rajyam, has declared assets worth Rs 88 crore, and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu has declared his wealth at Rs 68 crore. YSR acolyte V Balasoury has shown assets worth Rs. 45 crore.
If Rajagopal's assets have grown dramatically in the last five years, so have those of lottery king Mani Kumar Subba. In the last election, he had shown assets worth Rs 18 crore. This time he has declared that he owns assetsworth Rs 60 crore - a three-fold or a 300% jump. Interestingly, Subba's LIC policies alone are worth Rs 100 crore for which he has paid a premium of Rs 1.17 crore.
Compared to these worthies, the wealth of our former maharajas looks small. Jyotiraditya Scindia's declared assets, for instance, are less than Rs 14 crore.
The richest candidate so far, going by assets declared, is Lagadapati Rajagopal, the owner of power generation and infrastructure company Lanco, and the Congress candidate from Vijayawada. He has shown assets worth Rs 299 crore. In 2004, he had declared assets worth just Rs 9.6 crore. In other words, during the five-year UPA rule, his assets went up 30 times or by almost 3000%.
Rajagopal isn't the only politician whose wealth has grown. It's a general trend. There are many more who have bigger assets than the Rs 67 crore declared by D K Adikesavulu, the richest MP in the last election.
Samajwadi Party's Abu Azmi, for instance, recently declared his assets that are worth Rs 124 crore while filing his nomination from Mumbai North-West.
Then there's Karan Singh Tanwar, BSP's candidate from South Delhi. He had declared his assets while filing his nomination for the recently held Delhi assembly election - it was Rs 150 crore..
A lot of political fat cats come from Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy might have assets worth just Rs 1.35 crore, but his son, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is much richer - he has declared assets worth Rs 77 crore.
Telugu film star Chiranjeevi, who has floated his own party, Praja Rajyam, has declared assets worth Rs 88 crore, and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu has declared his wealth at Rs 68 crore. YSR acolyte V Balasoury has shown assets worth Rs. 45 crore.
Businessman-turned-politician, civil aviation minister Praful Patel has declared assets worth Rs 74 crore. and the man who pioneered low-cost airlines under Patel's watch, Capt Gopinath, has shown assets worth just a shade less – Rs. 73.46 crore.
Sharad Pawar's assets are worth Rs 8 crore but daughter Supriya Sule has declared assets worth Rs 53 crore, just Rs 2 crore less than filmmaker and LJP candidate Prakash Jha, who has shown assets worth Rs 55 crore.
If Rajagopal's assets have grown dramatically in the last five years, so have those of lottery king Mani Kumar Subba. In the last election, he had shown assets worth Rs 18 crore. This time he has declared that he owns assetsworth Rs 60 crore - a three-fold or a 300% jump. Interestingly, Subba's LIC policies alone are worth Rs 100 crore for which he has paid a premium of Rs 1.17 crore.
Compared to these worthies, the wealth of our former maharajas looks small. Jyotiraditya Scindia's declared assets, for instance, are less than Rs 14 crore.
Interestingly, UPA chief Sonia Gandhi's assets amount to about Rs 1.38 crore.
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