Millionaire realtor-turned-politician Deepak Bhardwaj first hit headlines in 2009 for being one of the richest candidates in the lok Sabha elections with a total declared wealth of over Rs 600 crore. He contested the 15th general election from West Delhi parliamentary constituency on the BSP ticket against Mahabal Mishra (Congress) and Professor Jagdish Mukhi (BJP) and lost poorly.
An affidavit filed by him with the Election Commission in 2009 declared his assets to be nearly worth Rs 620 crore. The document said he owned agricultural land worth Rs 368.22 crore while his wife had land worth Rs 100.35 crore. He also owned buildings worth Rs 28.75 crore, besides other assets.
The slain businessman was a resident of lajwanti Garden of west Delhi area but had been living in his farmhouse-Nitesh Kunj -- for the last eight years. According to BSP leaders in Delhi, Bhardwaj managed to get the BSP ticket for the 2009 general election on the basis of wealth. He secured only 36,089 votes then, way adrift of Mahabal Mishra’s tally of 1.29 lakh votes. The constituency voted BJP’s Mukhi the victor with nearly 3.50 lakh votes.
According to reports, his older son Nitesh is married to the sister-in-law of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.
Apart from real estate business, Bhardwaj, a B Com graduate from Delhi University, also ran hotels and a school. He has been running the real estate business successfully for the last three decades. He was developing a township project --Deepganga -- in Haridwar.
Bhardwaj’s school, Shiksha Bharti Public School, is in Dwarka and according to one of his close friends; he planned to open two more schools in west Delhi--one in Dwarka and the other in Dhansa.
The hotel that he owns is named after his first son -- Nitesh. The Nitesh Kunj Hotel is situated on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway. He also owns a construction company -- Delhi Apartments Private limited - which is run from an office in Mahipalpur.
Apart from a cheating case in Karkardooma court, he has been facing two criminal cases relating to property disputes which are pending against him in the district courts. Before establishing his realty business, Bhardwaj worked as stenographer in the Delhi Government from 1969 to 1976. His family and friends said that his real estate business was spread across eight States -- Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. His wife Ramesh Kumari, a teacher by profession, has been living separately with her sons. Elder son Nitesh lives in Dwarka and second son-- Hitesh Bhardwaj resides in west Delhi.