With ₹84 crore assets, BJP’s Mahesh Sharma richest candidate in GB Nagar

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Lok Sabha candidate Dr Mahesh Sharma is the richest candidate in the fray in Gautam Budh Nagar, with assets totalling ₹83.82 crore, according to his affidavit filed along with his nomination before the election commission for 2024 general elections.

Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Dr Mahendra Nagar has declared assets of ₹8.76 crore and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Rajendra Solanki has declared assets of ₹8.44 crore as per the details provided in affidavit filed along with their nomination papers.

The candidates from the three main political parties have got no criminal records or FIRs against them in any police station. However, in 2017 a non-cognizable report (NCR) was filed against SP candidate Nagar in Bisrakh police station of Gautam Budh Nagar district.

BJP’s Sharma, who owns the chain of Kailash Hospitals, has moveable and immovable assets of ₹58.68 crore and his wife Dr Uma Sharma has moveable and immovable assets of ₹25.14 crore. In 2019, they together had assets of ₹47.87 crore. Dr Sharma’s assets increased by ₹35.95 crore in the last 5 years, as per the affidavit.

Sharma declared an annual income of ₹5.51 crore in financial year 2023-24 and his wife filed returns of ₹1.75 crore in the same fiscal. Sharma has got ₹37.87 crore immovable and ₹20.8 crore movable assets. His wife has ₹12 crore immovable and ₹13.13 crore movable assets. He has got liabilities of ₹20.8 lakh while his wife has liabilities of ₹2.06 crore.

“I am a son of a farmer, who was a teacher in Rajasthan. Noida is the land where I got immense love and blessings. I am overwhelmed with the love and now I want to give back to society,” said Sharma, who is the incumbent MP from Gautam Budh Nagar.

As per the EC schedule, the Gautam Budh Nagar district will go to polls on April 26 — in the second phase of the elections.

The scrutiny of nominations will be held on Friday. April 8 will be the last date for withdrawal of nominations. The constituency has 1,830,966 registered voters — 759,418 in Noida, 704,502 in Dadri and 367,046 in Jewar, as per the voters’ list.

SP candidate Nagar has ₹3.81 crore immovable assets and ₹2.53 crore movable assets. His wife Pushpa Nagar has immovable assets of ₹63.01 lakh and movable assets of ₹1.79 crore.

Nagar’s annual income is ₹20.63 lakh and his wife has an annual income of ₹7.1 lakh.

“I was born and brought up in Greater Noida’s Milak Lachhi village and I have been working selflessly for society for the past 30 years. We have always kept in mind that we need to work to help the needy, and we never cared to earn money,” said Nagar.

BSP’s Solanki and his wifeSapna Solanki together have assets of ₹8.44 crore. Solanki’s total assets amount to ₹5.44 crore while his wife has assets of ₹3 crore. He earns ₹33,000 from his MLA pension fund and also has agricultural income. He has an annual income of ₹3.46 lakh and his wife an annual income of ₹12.6 lakh. “Since my school days, I was involved in politics and later, I became an MLA in 1985 on a Congress ticket from Sikandrabad in Bulandshahr. This is probably my last election and a chance to give back to the region, where I was born and brought up,” said Solanki, who was born and brought up in Bulandshahr’s Hasanpur Luduki village near Jhajhar.