STAFF REPORTER / AGENCIES
Congress President Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Kerala’s Wayanad parliamentary constituency at the district headquarters in Kalpetta amid cheers for his party workers today. He was accompanied by sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mr Gandhi at the office of the district collectorate.
The Affidavit given by Congress chief showed his assets rose from 9.4 crores to 15.88 crores over the last five years, revealed the affidavit he filed today for his candidature in Kerala’s Wayanad seat.
Ahead of the 2019 national elections, the total value of his assets was 9.4 crore. The affidavit showed that the Congress chief does not own a car and has liabilities of around Rs. 72 lakh. The affidavit showed his cash in hand amount is Rs. 40,000.
The affidavit accompanying the nomination shows his total income for in 2017-18 financial year was Rs. 1.11 crore – the sources of income mentioned include his salary as a lawmaker, income from royalty, rent, and investments.
Mr Gandhi continues to own a share in a farm he inherited in Delhi’s Sultanpur village, worth around Rs. 1.32 crore and has purchased two office spaces in Gurugram’s Signature Tower in December 2014, which are worth over Rs. 8.75 crore.
He also owns some jewellery valued at around 2.91 lakh. The Congress chief has declared that he has five cases pending against him, four of which involve allegations of defamation.
Under educational qualifications, Mr Gandhi said he has an MPhil degree in Development Studies from Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
Later, speaking at a roadshow in Wayanad, Mr Gandhi said, he has come to Kerala to send a message that India is one.
Later Addressing an election rally in Nagpur, Mr Gandhi proclaimed that Congress will ensure Minimum Income to farmers if voted to power.
Addressing a public meeting in Amethi, BJP leader Smriti Irani criticised Congress President Rahul Gandhi, saying his decision to contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala was an insult to the people of Amethi.
In Gujarat, a number of candidates filed their nomination papers today. Polling for all 26 Lok Sabha seats will be held on 23rd of April.
In Assam, 38 nomination papers have been filed for the third phase covering four seats. 57 candidates filed nominations in Bihar for 5 seats and 15 candidates for two constituencies in Goa in this phase.
All parliamentary constituencies of Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu will go to polls in the third phase. Besides this, voting in this phase will also take place for 14 seats each in Maharashtra and Karnataka, ten in Uttar Pradesh, seven in Chhattisgarh, six in Odisha, five each in Bihar and West Bengal, four in Assam, and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Congress today released another list of 12 candidates for Madhya Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections. They include State Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath from Chhindwara, former State Congress President Arun Yadav from Khandwa and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha from Jabalpur. With this, the Party has so far announced candidates for 21 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in the State.
The party also announced that Mr. Kamal Nath will be the party candidate from Chhindwara Assembly constituency in by-polls. This was necessitated as Kamal Nath was the Lok Sabha member before assuming the charge of Chief Minister.