Kamal Haasan richest candidate in Tamil Nadu Assembly polls

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN,

Our Special Correspondent

 NEW DELHI, March 20:

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan has emerged as the richest candidate in the fray for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections on April 6. The founder and chief of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) declared moveable assets worth over INR450 million. He filed his nomination from the Coimbatore (South) constituency.

 Candidates, including heavyweights such as Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, DMK President MK Stalin, Haasan and Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam, have officially entered the fray for the April 6 election.

 The Chief Minister, who filed his nomination from Edapadi constituency on Monday, declared movable assets worth over INR 4.7 million while stating that he has no immovable assets to his name. He further stated that his wife’s movable assets were worth INR 10.4 million and that of the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) were INR 5.021 million.

 He declared immovable assets in his wife’s name at INR 17.8 million and a further INR 21 million under the HUF, including ancestral property. His affidavit further states that he owes a “hand loan” of INR 1.5 million to an individual.

 In his 2016 poll affidavit, the AIADMK joint coordinator had pegged his movable assets at over INR 1.283 million and immovable assets at INR 19.7 million. In his latest filed on Monday, he declared that he owes the government no dues, including on the Income Tax and GST fronts.

 Stating agriculture as his primary profession, the CM said he has no pending cases against him. He chose the ‘Not Applicable’ option in a section of the nomination papers where a candidate is required to enter the total number of cases in which he/she has been convicted. Palaniswami has contested six Assembly elections till date, winning four of them.

 Stalin declared movable assets worth a little over INR 49.4 million, while pegging his immovable assets, comprising land and residential buildings, at INR22.4 million. The DMK president, who is seeking a third successive term from Kolathur constituency, stated that his wife’s movable assets were worth INR 30,52,854.

 He said he had no vehicle in his name while his wife was in possession of gold jewellery worth INR 2.477 million. Adding that he INR50,000 as cash in hand, Stalin declared that he owed no dues to banks or government agencies and had no other liabilities. He stated the sources of his income as his monthly salary as MLA, bank deposits, and rent.

 Stalin’s son and the party’s youth-wing secretary Udhayanidhi, who is making his electoral debut from the Chepauk-Triplicane segment this year, declared INR211.3 million worth of movable assets, including a four-wheeler of 2016 model. Declaring the ‘procurement price’ of his vehicle as INR17.7 million, he stated that he had immovable assets worth INR 65.4 million.

 Haasan quoted his movable properties over INR 450 million. These include two vehicles – BMW 730 LD and Lexus LX 570, the combined valuation of which comes to INR 30.7 million. The veteran actor pegged his immovable properties, including commercial buildings and agricultural land, at a little over INR1.31 billion.

 He also declared two residential buildings in Chennai, cumulatively priced at INR 195 million, and a joint property in London worth INR25 million. The superstar stated that he has INR 495 million in liabilities, adding that he has no spouse or dependents.