His assets: Rs 1,522 cr
But the Congress candidate for the Mysore LS seat and scion of the Mysore royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, is perhaps the candidate who has the largest declared wealth: Rs 1,522.53 crore.
We can't call him the richest candidate running for the current elections since many others have more hidden assets than declared ones. But the Congress candidate for the Mysore LS seat and scion of the Mysore royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, is perhaps the candidate who has the largest declared wealth: Rs 1,522.53 crore.
Wodeyar was in no position to hide his assets since it is common knowledge that he has inherited many palaces, two of which alone are worth Rs 1,500 crore.
It's another matter that the Karnataka government is seeking to acquire the two palaces and Wodeyar is in the middle of a long legal battle to stall that move. He also owns the Lokaranjan Mahal and Rajendra Vilas Palace in Mysore and the Fernhill Palace in Ooty.
Wodeyar's affidavit says his wife Promoda Devi has jewellery worth Rs 13.9 lakh while he himself has Rs 75,000 worth of ornaments. For all this wealth, Wodeyar claims he has no bank balance and he and his wife have Rs 50,000 cash each and a Maruti Zen. But the couple have investments like bonds and shares worth about Rs 25 lakh.
Wodeyar's hold over the Mysore constituency is as large as his wealth: he has won the seat four times. Only once has he lost. In contrast, his BJP rival C.H. Vijayshankar declared that he owns 525 sheep, Rs 1 lakh in cash, a Maruti Omni, some LIC policies and not much else.
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