Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's son and cabinet minister Nara Lokesh owns assets worth over Rs 320 crore. This was declared by him on Friday in an affidavit he submitted, along with his nomination for the Mangalagiri Assembly constituency in Amaravati, the state’s capital region.
While his self-declared movable assets were worth over Rs 253 crore, his immovable assets were valued at Rs 66 crore. Nara Brahmani, his wife and a businesswoman, has assets worth Rs 33 crore including movable assets of over Rs 14 crore. Their four-year-old son Devansh owns assets worth over Rs 19 crore. In 2017, then two-year-old Devansh was richer than Naidu himself.
36-year-old Lokesh, who is making his electoral debut, mentioned in the affidavit that he holds shares worth Rs 242 crore in Heritage Foods Limited, a family-owned firm.
While Lokesh is listed as a director on the company's board, his mother, Nara Bhuvaneswari is listed as the Vice-Chairperson and Managing Director of the group. Lokesh's wife, Brahmani, is the company's executive director and also holds shares worth over Rs 10 crore.
Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh files his nomination from Mangalagiri #ElectionsWithTNM pic.twitter.com/OaxnUzNRD6
— Nitin Bhaskaran (@NitinBGoode) March 23, 2019
Lokesh, who has done Master of Business Administration from Stanford University, owns three motor vehicles including a Ford Fiesta and two Toyota Fortuners.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader owns five acres of agricultural land near Hyderabad worth over Rs 47 crore. He and his father, Chandrababu Naidu, jointly own a house in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad which is valued at over Rs 19 crore.
Lokesh has liabilities of Rs 5.72 crore, while his wife's liabilities stood at Rs 3.41 crore.
Chandrababu Naidu and all his family members voluntarily declare their assets every year as part of an annual tradition. However, it has not been without controversy.
In October 2016, the TDP leader claimed that he had assets worth Rs 14 crore at the annual press meet, but his affidavit submitted to the Election Commission (EC) when he was nominated as an MLC in 2017, put the same figure at roughly Rs 330 crore.
The affidavit stated that he had investments worth Rs 264.90 crore in Heritage, while his self-declared list released to the media claimed that he only had investments worth Rs 2.52 crore in the company. This had triggered a row, with many accusing him of suppressing facts.
However, Lokesh later clarified on social media at the time, saying: "My shares in Heritage represent a dynamic wealth, as stock market prices fluctuate. The holding has been constant for over a decade (not a single share sold or purchased) and hence we presented the original investment made in obtaining the shares. In contrast, the Election Commission has mandated the market price to be given as on date of listing. Since the asset declaration details are fairly straightforward, anyone can calculate the market value.”
With IANS inputs