The assets of Chandrababu Naidu have gone up from Rs 2.53 crore to nearly Rs 3 crore.
The total assets of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his family has spiked by over 12.5 crore in a year, his son Nara Lokesh declared on Wednesday evening. Mr Naidu has been voluntarily disclosing his family's assets and liabilities every year for the last 8 years, in a show of transparency.
Earlier this year, an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms had found Mr Naidu to be the richest Chief Minister of the country with declared assets of Rs 177 crore in his election affidavit.
But going by the 68-year-old chief minister's voluntary disclosure, based on the rates at which assets were acquired, in over a year, the value of the Naidu family's combined assets has touched Rs 81.83 crore from Rs 69.28 crore -- a jump of Rs 12.55 crore.
The assets of Mr Naidu have gone up from Rs 2.53 crore to nearly Rs 3 crore. His wife's assets however, have grown significantly - from Rs 25 crore to Rs 31 crore. Properties in the name of Nara Lokesh -- Mr Naidu's son and the state's information minister -- and the Chief Minister's minor grandson Devaansh, has showed similar growth.
Nara Lokesh's assets, worth Rs 15.21 crore last year, stand at Rs 21.40 crore now. The value of the property in the name of his three-year-old son Devaansh has gone up to Rs 18.71 crore against last year's Rs 11.54 crore.
Last year, when the businessman-turned-politician contested in the Legislative Council elections, he had declared assets worth Rs 330 crore -- up from less than Rs 15 crore a few months before. The 35-year-old said the jump was because his voluntary disclosure was done taking the face value of shares, which is the rate at which he acquired them. But in the election affidavit, he declared their market value.
The value of the assets his wife Brahmini, however, has taken a nosedive. From last year's Rs 15.01 crore, it now stands at Rs 7.72 crore.
Mr Naidu has been outspoken about a series of raids by the Income Tax department on various state leaders. These raids, he said, were evidence of "political vendetta". His minister K Srinivasalu had alleged that the raids were meant to deter development in the state.
He also said the raids were creating panic among investors and businessmen, and were a great hindrance for tourists from outside the state.