The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener, Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday filed his nomination from the New Delhi constituency, declaring a family net worth of Rs 4.2 Crore. In 2020, Kejriwal had declared assets worth Rs 3.4 Crore, a marginal increase of Rs 1.3 Crore from 2015. Kejriwal’s total assets were worth Rs 2.1 Crore in 2015. On the other hand, BJP candidate from the New Delhi seat and former MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma has a total of Rs 77,89,34,554 in movable assets, including Rs 2.2 Crore in cash, while his wife, Swati Singh, has Rs 17,53,60,937 in movable assets, including jewelry worth more than Rs 45 Lakhs.
According to Kejriwal’s affidavit submitted to the Election Commission (EC), Kejriwal has a total of Rs 3,46,849 in movable assets, including Rs 50,000 in cash-in-hand. His wife, Sunita Kejriwal, has movable assets worth Rs 1,00,89,655, including Rs 42,000 in cash-in-hand. His immovable assets are worth Rs 1.7 Crore. The affidavit also revealed that Kejriwal owns no house or car.
According to the affidavit, Kejriwal’s income for the financial year 2023-24 was Rs 7.21 Lakh. Sunita Kejriwal’s total assets are worth Rs 2.5 Crore, with over Rs 1 Crore in movable assets, including 320 grams of gold worth Rs 25 Lakh and one kilogram of silver worth Rs 92,000, and Rs 1.5 Crore in immovable assets.
Kejriwal’s wife owns a house in Gurugram and a small five-seater car, the affidavit said. The election affidavit also revealed that Sunita Kejriwal, wife of the AAP leader, has twice the annual income of Arvind Kejriwal. While Kejriwal declared his annual income at Rs 7.21 Lakh, Sunita has an annual income of Rs 14.10 Lakh. While Kejriwal has listed his profession as MLA/politician, his wife Sunita has declared her profession as a retired government servant and housewife.
Sunita has about Rs 20 Lakh in four different bank accounts and Rs 26,47,944 in her public provident fund (PPF) account. While Kejriwal’s income comes from his MLA salary, his wife receives a pension for being a retired government official. Sunita also has 320 grams of gold worth Rs 25 Lakh and one kilogram of silver worth Rs 92,000. He is facing 14 cases, including the excise policy scam case, non-compliance of summons, and alleged defamation cases.
Before filing his nomination papers, Kejriwal, accompanied by his wife Sunita, offered prayers at the Hanuman and Valmiki temples. He then led a ‘padyatra’ from the AAP office to the New Delhi district magistrate’s office, where he filed his nomination. Hundreds of AAP workers, carrying party flags, walked with the former chief minister for his nomination.
After filing his nomination, Kejriwal exuded confidence that the AAP would return to power in Delhi and urged people to vote based on work and not “abuses”. “AAP will form the government with full majority,” he said. “I want to request the people of Delhi to vote based on work and not abuses,” he added.
Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kejriwal said the party has no vision, no chief ministerial face, and no narrative. “They are not telling what work they will do in the next five years. The people of Delhi cannot be bought with a pair of shoes; people are seeing what the BJP is doing,” he said.
On reports about a threat to his life from a pro-Khalistani outfit, the AAP leader said God was with him. “Jako rakhe saiyan maar sake na koye (Those protected by God cannot be killed by anyone). God is with me. One lives as long as their lifeline. The day one’s lifeline ends, God calls them,” he told reporters after offering prayers at the Prachin Hanuman temple.
Verma, a former BJP MP and a prominent face in this election, holds an MBA degree from the Fore School of Management. He has declared movable assets worth Rs 77.89 Crore and immovable assets valued at Rs 12.19 Crore. His wife owns movable assets worth Rs 17.53 Crore and immovable assets worth Rs 6.91 Crore. Verma has listed business and social work as his primary sources of income, while his wife is involved in private service and social work.
Verma has shown a cash balance of Rs 2.2 Lakh. He owns three cars -- a Toyota Fortuner (Rs 9 Lakh), a Toyota Innova (Rs 36 Lakh), and an XUV (Rs 11.77 Lakh). In terms of precious metals, Verma owns 200 grams of gold worth Rs 8.25 Lakh, while his wife possesses 1.11 kg of gold valued at Rs 45.75 Lakh. Additionally, his two daughters own 300 grams of gold worth Rs 12.35 Lakh each, and his son holds 150 grams of gold valued at Rs 6.17 Lakh. Verma has a defamation case pending against him, filed by former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia concerning allegations of corruption in Delhi’s schools, among other legal matters. According to his affidavit, loans/dues on Verma total Rs 62.60 Crore, which includes a personal loan from his brother Siddharth Sahib Singh amounting to Rs 22.59 Crore. His wife has loans and dues amounting to almost Rs 11.45 Crore. He has one agricultural land worth Rs 80,50,000, and his wife has one worth about Rs 4 Crore. He also has non-agricultural land, a commercial building, and residential buildings. Before filing his nomination, Verma first offered prayers at the historic Gauri Shankar Temple in Chandni Chowk and Valmiki Temple.
Meanwhile, Ramesh Bidhuri (61) has disclosed movable assets worth Rs 2.57 Crore and immovable assets worth Rs 12.3 Crore. His wife owns movable assets worth Rs 33.19 Lakh and immovable assets valued at Rs 4.73 Crore. Bidhuri, who holds an LLB degree from Uttar Pradesh, has listed business and rental income as his sources of earnings. He has declared a bank balance of Rs 30,000. The BJP candidate from the Kalkaji constituency owns four cars -- two Mahindra Scorpio cars valued at Rs 23.4 Lakh and Rs 16.9 Lakh, a Hyundai Creta worth Rs 18.11 Lakh, and a Toyota Innova worth Rs 23.5 Lakh. Additionally, he has declared 250 grams of gold worth Rs 20 Lakh, while his wife owns 200 grams of gold valued at Rs 16.3 Lakh and two kilograms of silver worth Rs 1.86 Lakh.
Voting for the 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 5. The counting of votes will take place on February 8.
