By IANS,
Hyderabad : Telugu Desam Party’s C.M. Ramesh is set to join the long list of richest MPs from Andhra Pradesh, the state which boasts of the richest parliament member in the country, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
With assets of over Rs.175 crore, Ramesh, the TDP candidate for Rajya Sabha, will become the second richest MP from the state after Jaganmohan Reddy, the YSR Congress party leader who has a net worth of Rs.365 crore.
Jaganmohan Reddy had declared his assets while filing his nomination for byelection to Kadapa Lok Sabha seat last year. In 2009, he was worth Rs.72.8 crore. The businessman-politician’s wealth is currently being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The number one position was earlier held by TDP’s Nama Nageswara Rao, a member of the Lok Sabha from Khammam. In 2009, he had declared assets of Rs.173 crore.
Ramesh, a business tycoon, has now overtaken his party colleague.
Ramesh, in his affidavit filed before the returning officer, has declared assets of Rs.175.15 crore, comprising movable assets of Rs.25.50 crore and immovable assets of Rs.149.65 crore. He and his wife own non-agricultural land worth Rs.94 crore and agricultural land worth Rs.9.32 crore. The couple owns a BMW, a Toyoto Corolla and Innova.
Industrialist Rajagopal, a Congress Lok Saba member from Vijayawada, is at fourth position. He was worth Rs.122 crore in 2009.
Five out of six candidates who filed their nominations for the Rajya Sabha from the state Monday are crorepatis. Telugu superstar K. Chiranjeevi, who is a Congress candidate, follows Ramesh with assets of about Rs.83 crore.
Congress spokesperson and former union minister Renuka Chowdary and her husband are worth about Rs.58 crore.
TDP’s other candidate and former state home minister T. Devender Goud is not far behind. He has declared assets of Rs.38.20 crore.
Congress senior leader P. Goverdhan Reddy has property of Rs.2.34 crore. The only exception is the ruling party’s R. Ananda Bhaskar, who may be one of the poorest MPs with assets of Rs.7.70 lakh. The journalist-turned-politician, who is a little known functionary of the party, has only an old two-wheeler registered in his wife’s name.
The state already boasts of several other crorepati MPs. They include Congress party’s G. Vivekanand (Rs.73 crore), M. Rajamohan Reddy (Rs.37.3 crore) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s Vijayshanti (Rs.20 crore).