MP elections: Shivraj Chouhan the wealthiest CM

New Delhi: With assets worth more than Rs 6.27 crore, Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the richest among those set to be appointed Chief Ministers in the four states. While this would be Chouhan’s third consecutive term as Chief Minister, his party colleague and Delhi’s chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan comes last in terms of assets among the new possible heads for the four states whose assembly election results were announced today. [caption id=“attachment_1275407” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shivraj Singh Chouhan. AFP[/caption] Vardhan’s declared assets of Rs 2.8 crore lag behind that of Rajasthan leader Vasundhara Raje Scindia’s Rs 4.04 crore and Rs 5.61 crore of Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh. Interestingly, Chouhan also leads the charts in terms of declared liabilities (over Rs 74 lakh) of the four leaders likely to occupy chief minister’s position. In comparison, Vardhan has declared liabilities of Rs 19.5 lakh, as against Raje’s Rs 7.29 lakh and Rs 30.7 lakh for Singh. While Chouhan and Raje have steered their parties to victory with huge margins, the elections turned out to be close in Delhi and Chhattisgarh. Two outgoing chief ministers, Sheila Dikshit of Delhi and Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, have zero liabilities. Among other chief ministerial candidates, Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party of Delhi had liabilities to the tune of Rs 41.2 lakh, while Chattisgarh’s Raman Singh had Rs 30.7 lakh. In terms of total income for latest financial year 2012-13, Raje and Chouhan are on top with earnings of over Rs 17 crore. While Raje’s is at Rs 17.45 lakh, that of the Madhya Pradesh chief minister is tad lower at Rs 17.12 lakh. They are followed by Raman Singh (Rs 14.59 lakh) and Shiela Dikshit (Rs 13.94 lakh). Vardhan had a total income of Rs 7.72 lakh, while Kejriwal is way lower at Rs 2.06 lakh. Chouhan’s total assets of Rs 6.27 crore comprised agricultural land valued at around Rs 3.63 crore, residential buildings worth Rs 1.6 crore and non-agricultural land having value of Rs 34 lakh. Besides, he had deposits worth Rs 20.96 lakh and jewellery valued at around Rs 15.6 lakh. The analysis is based on figures provided by the candidates and compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms. All the numbers are for the financial year ended March 2013. In the run up to polls, Renu Jogi, spouse of former Chattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi, was seen as front runner for the top most in the event of Congress forming the government there. Her declared assets were Rs 6.03 crore, liabilities at Rs 30 lakh and total income for 2012-13 at Rs 7.47 lakh. Delhi’s outgoing Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had declared assets of nearly Rs 2.82 crore, while her counterpart in Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, had Rs 1.7 crore. Arvind Kejriwal, whose party has emerged as the second biggest after BJP in Delhi, has declared assets of Rs 2.1 crore. PTI