CPI candidate Annie Raja (L) and Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: DH Photo, PTI
Rahul Gandhi, the former Congress president, and Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI) filed their nominations from Kerala's Wayanad on Wednesday for what promises to be an interesting battle in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections scheduled in the state for April 26.
Annie Raja, who serves as the general secretary of the CPI's National Federation of Indian Women and is the spouse of D Raja, the party's general secretary, filed her nomination opposing Rahul Gandhi.
Despite being in I.N.D.I.A. bloc, the Left Democratic Front (LDF), consisting of CPI, CPI(M) and others and United Democratic Front (UDF), led by Congress, are facing each other in Kerala, where UDF serves as the biggest political opponent of the ruling LDF.
As per the affidavit given to the ECI, Rahul Gandhi's total assets, including movable and immovable, are valued at Rs 20 crore with an annual income exceeding Rs 1 crore, whereas Annie Raja's total assets are worth only Rs 72 lakh.
Rahul Gandhi's assets
As per the declaration provided by Rahul Gandhi in his affidavit, the former Congress president has investments in the stock market amounting to Rs 4.3 crore, mutual fund deposits totaling Rs 3.81 crore, and a bank account balance of Rs 26.25 lakh.
The affidavit reveals that Rahul Gandhi holds Rs 55,000 in cash and recorded a total income of Rs 1,02,78,680 during the financial year 2022-23.
In the latest affidavit, Rahul Gandhi's reported total movable asset worth Rs 9.24 crore.
The Congress leader holds gold bonds valued at Rs 15.2 lakh, the affidavit further reveals. Rahul Gandhi has also made investments in National Savings Schemes, Postal Savings, insurance policies, and other avenues totaling Rs 61.52 lakh. Furthermore, he has a liability of approximately Rs 49.7 lakh.
Moreover, Rahul Gandhi has disclosed joint ownership of agricultural land in Delhi's Mehrauli with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with office space in Gurugram valued at Rs 11 crore.
Annie Raja's assets
As per the affidavit, Annie Raja possesses assets valued at Rs 72 lakh. She has declared holdings including Rs 10,000 in cash, bank deposits totaling Rs 62,000, jewellery valued at Rs 25,000, and an inherited property worth Rs 71 lakh.
In the upcoming election in Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi is competing against both Annie Raja and K Surendran, the Bharatiya Janata Party state president. Rahul Gandhi secured a significant victory in the 2019 Wayanad election with a margin exceeding four lakh votes.
Polling for all 20 parliamentary constituencies in Kerala is scheduled for April 26 in the second phase of the nationwide elections. The deadline for filing nomination papers, as per an Election Commission notification, is April 4.