In Mumbai, Parag Shah stands out—not for his public speeches or service record, but for his staggering net worth that exceeds Rs 3,400 crore. The former BJP MLA from Ghatkopar East, who is contesting once again, has witnessed an impressive 500% growth in his wealth since 2019, as reported by TOI.
The Wealthiest MLAs
Trailing Shah in the wealth race are Abu Azmi with Rs 272 crore, Mangal Prabhat Lodha with Rs 140 crore, and Pratap Sarnaik with Rs 133 crore. Other notable figures like Hitendra Thakur, Aslam Shaikh, and Amin Patel may not quite make it into the Rs 100-crore-plus league, but their net assets still top Rs 50 crore.
According to TOI, among the top 10 richest MLAs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, five belong to BJP, two to Congress, and one each from Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena, and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi. In stark contrast, the bottom 10 richest MLAs, according to asset declarations, include four from BJP, three from Shiv Sena-UBT, two from Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and one from NCP (SP).
However, senior economist Dr. Neeraj Hatekar expressed scepticism about these figures. He noted that “many have 100-acre farms and commercial properties,” with their benami stakes in companies and hidden assets remaining underreported. "Rarely is there any verification of hidden income sources by tax agencies responsible for scrutinising these affidavits before or after polls," he added.
The Influence of Real Estate and Other Interests
Super-rich MLAs like Shah and Lodha are heavily involved in real estate. A few others, like Thakur and Azmi, have diversified interests in education and hospitality, managing private colleges and restaurants. Shah, active in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai with both greenfield and redevelopment projects, started as a BJP corporator and rose through BMC’s standing committee to become an MLA in 2019. His assets soared from Rs 500 crore to Rs 3,382 crore by 2024.
Azmi, who has represented the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar assembly seat since 2009, has businesses across Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. His wealth increased by 30%, from Rs 209 crore to Rs 272 crore in the past five years.
Rising Assets Amid Political Moves
Pratap Sarnaik, who made headlines in June 2021 with an open letter to Uddhav Thackeray, urged the Shiv Sena to align with the BJP. Sarnaik, facing money laundering cases, later switched allegiance to Eknath Shinde’s faction in 2022. His assets have skyrocketed by 396%, jumping from Rs 26.9 crore to Rs 133 crore.
Challenges in Asset Disclosure and Verification
Venkatesh Nayak, Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, points out that electoral laws fail to hold candidates accountable for the truth behind their asset declarations. "The assets and liabilities disclosure requirement for electoral candidates stops just at that threshold," Nayak explained. "There is no duty under the electoral laws or any court direction to either the EC (Election Commission) or the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) or any other agency to verify the truth behind claims made in affidavits in a timely manner."
He added, "Voters are compelled to take the claims candidates make about increase, decrease, or status quo in assets and income at face value. The EC writes to the CBDT to verify the contents of the affidavits only after the electoral process is completed. Even then there is little information in the public domain about action taken by CBDT to verify the contents of affidavits. So, if a candidate has lied on an affidavit, voters have no basis to question the candidates."
Inputs from TOI
The Wealthiest MLAs
Trailing Shah in the wealth race are Abu Azmi with Rs 272 crore, Mangal Prabhat Lodha with Rs 140 crore, and Pratap Sarnaik with Rs 133 crore. Other notable figures like Hitendra Thakur, Aslam Shaikh, and Amin Patel may not quite make it into the Rs 100-crore-plus league, but their net assets still top Rs 50 crore.
According to TOI, among the top 10 richest MLAs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, five belong to BJP, two to Congress, and one each from Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena, and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi. In stark contrast, the bottom 10 richest MLAs, according to asset declarations, include four from BJP, three from Shiv Sena-UBT, two from Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and one from NCP (SP).
However, senior economist Dr. Neeraj Hatekar expressed scepticism about these figures. He noted that “many have 100-acre farms and commercial properties,” with their benami stakes in companies and hidden assets remaining underreported. "Rarely is there any verification of hidden income sources by tax agencies responsible for scrutinising these affidavits before or after polls," he added.
The Influence of Real Estate and Other Interests
Super-rich MLAs like Shah and Lodha are heavily involved in real estate. A few others, like Thakur and Azmi, have diversified interests in education and hospitality, managing private colleges and restaurants. Shah, active in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai with both greenfield and redevelopment projects, started as a BJP corporator and rose through BMC’s standing committee to become an MLA in 2019. His assets soared from Rs 500 crore to Rs 3,382 crore by 2024.
Azmi, who has represented the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar assembly seat since 2009, has businesses across Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. His wealth increased by 30%, from Rs 209 crore to Rs 272 crore in the past five years.
Rising Assets Amid Political Moves
Pratap Sarnaik, who made headlines in June 2021 with an open letter to Uddhav Thackeray, urged the Shiv Sena to align with the BJP. Sarnaik, facing money laundering cases, later switched allegiance to Eknath Shinde’s faction in 2022. His assets have skyrocketed by 396%, jumping from Rs 26.9 crore to Rs 133 crore.
Challenges in Asset Disclosure and Verification
Venkatesh Nayak, Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, points out that electoral laws fail to hold candidates accountable for the truth behind their asset declarations. "The assets and liabilities disclosure requirement for electoral candidates stops just at that threshold," Nayak explained. "There is no duty under the electoral laws or any court direction to either the EC (Election Commission) or the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) or any other agency to verify the truth behind claims made in affidavits in a timely manner."
He added, "Voters are compelled to take the claims candidates make about increase, decrease, or status quo in assets and income at face value. The EC writes to the CBDT to verify the contents of the affidavits only after the electoral process is completed. Even then there is little information in the public domain about action taken by CBDT to verify the contents of affidavits. So, if a candidate has lied on an affidavit, voters have no basis to question the candidates."
Inputs from TOI
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