What politicians do with their money: Investments in mutual funds to shares
New Delhi, Apr 29: Fixed deposits and tax-free bonds seem to be among the most favoured financial investments for the political leaders fighting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while mutual funds and stocks also adorn the portfolios of many and some even have got shares of long-defunct firms like Kingfisher Airlines.
Shares of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the country's most valued company with a market capitalistion of over Rs 8.82 lakh crore, can be found in the portfolios of several leaders, while stocks and mutual fund units of the firms from younger brother Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group are also a common sight, as per disclosures made in election affidavits of the contestants.
However,
some
top
leaders
including
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
have
no
stock
market
or
mutual
fund
exposure
at
all
and
their
financial
savings
are
limited
to
deposits
in
banks,
tax-free
bonds,
insurance
policies
and
instruments
like
National
Savings
Certificate
(NSC).
The
direct
equity
investments
for
a
few
are
limited
to
unlisted
companies,
including
those
owned
by
their
families.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah has disclosed a long list of listed and unlisted shares in his name and in the name of his spouse. The listed shares in his name, totalling over Rs 17.5 crore, include companies from Aditya Birla Group, Bajaj, L&T, Tata and both Reliance groups, as also several PSUs.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has disclosed equity holding in Young Indian and investments in several mutual funds. The portfolio of his mother and senior party leader Sonia Gandhi includes equity shares of Young Indian and Maruti Technical Services Pvt Ltd and mutual fund units of HDFC, Kotak, Motilal Oswal and Reliance MF.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)'s Supriya Sule, daughter of veteran leader Sharad Pawar, has got unlisted shares worth over Rs 1 crore and listed shares worth over Rs 6 crore, besides some mutual funds.
The listed shares include those of Adani Group firms, the two Reliance groups, several Tata firms and even Kingfisher Airlines as also of some other companies from the erstwhile UB Group, including United Spirits which was sold by defaulter businessman Vijay Mallya to global liquor giant Diageo Plc.
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Kingfisher shares have long been delisted from the stock exchanges, though they quoted at above Rs 300 apiece once. The stocks eventually slipped below Re 1 and trading was eventually suspended in 2014-end after mounting troubles for the erstwhile luxury airline had led to its closure.
Union minister and BJP candidate from Nagpur Nitin Gadkari has equity shares of Purti Power and Sugar Ltd, among other investments.
Poonam Mahajan, BJP candidate from Mumbai North Central, has disclosed listed equity investments by her spouse in Kingfisher Airlines, as also in Reliance Industries, TCS, Vodafone Idea Cellular and Reliance Power.
Her Congress rival Priya Dutt has listed several mutual fund and portfolio schemes totalling about Rs 14.92 crore, while the listed shares disclosed in the name of her spouse include Reliance Industries, Reliance Infra and Reliance Power.
Congress
candidate
from
Mumbai
South,
Murli
Deora,
has
disclosed
multiple
bonds,
structured
market
products,
PMS
account,
mutual
funds
and
FMPs
(fixed
maturity
plans).
Actress-turned-politician
Urmila
Matondkar,
Congress
candidate
from
Mumbai
North,
has
disclosed
Rs
28.28
crore
worth
investment
in
shares,
bonds
and
mutual
funds
and
PMS
(portfolio
management
service)
investments
worth
about
Rs
6
crore,
but
the
individual
stocks/units
were
not
disclosed.
Jaya Prada, another former actress and the BJP candidate from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, has also disclosed investments in some listed companies such as Energy Development Company Ltd (which has got her political mentor Amar Singh as a promoter), Coal India, HDFC Bank, ITC, MCX and Reliance Industries.
Actor-politician Raj Babbar, the Congress candidate from Fatehpur Sikri, has investments in IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd.
Among
other
Uttar
Pradesh
candidates,
Union
minister
and
BJP
leader
Satyapal
Singh
has
disclosed
investments
worth
Rs
1.5
lakh
in
mutual
funds
and
bonds
in
his
name
and
some
equity
shares
held
by
his
spouse
including
of
Reliance
Capital
and
Reliance
Industries.
Another
union
minister
V
K
Singh
and
his
spouse
have
also
invested
in
various
mutual
funds.