"Why Focus On Money? Elections Are Expensive": Country's Richest Candidate

Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, the country's richest candidate in this election who declared assets worth Rs 5785 crore, is candid about money and elections and the link between them. He also feels that his status as the richest candidate should not count.  

"I don't know why you guys are focusing so much on the money aspect," Dr Pemmasani told NDTV in an exclusive interview. "Unfortunately, these days, politics has become an expensive process. Not that is that is the change. Actually, we all need to discuss about it, right? Not common people cannot contest in any of these elections,' he added.

Dr Pemmasani is the candidate from Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party, which is back in the NDA fold after around six years. He is contesting from Guntur, where the party's last candidate was also well-off.

But two-time MP Galla Jayadev has pulled out of any further contests, citing business commitments and "troubles" created by the Andhra Pradesh government and the Centre.

Asked why he decided to contest, Dr Pemmasani said it was about giving back to society.

"I don't need to come because I have probably all the comforts that anybody could ask for in this world. The reason I came is mainly because of I want to give it back to the society... Once you have that ideology, you can patiently listen to most human problems and solve most of them... As an entrepreneur, you know how to prioritise," he said.

A graduate from Osmania Medical College, Dr Pemmasani worked in Johns Hopkins University - Sinai Hospital in the US for five years. Back in India, he turned an educationist and entrepreneur before deciding to plunge into politics.  

His campaign, he insists, is not negative. "The state is in a lot of debt. We don't have capital we don't have. We don't have a single industry. So we need the support of the central government," he said.

His party aims to restore permissions to the 130 institutes that Mr Naidu had allowed when he was the Chief Minister. "Jagan Mohan Reddy completely cancelled all 130," he said, which is why now these institutes have to take individual permissions when they come in.

"It is a two- to three-year process even to request… For somebody to come and create a project report, building some infrastructure. Creating a job will take two to three years. I'm telling everybody we can't give you a job on Day One. This is the problem when you elect a government that doesn't have this pro-development nature. You don't lose five years. You typically lose 7 to 8 years minimum," he added.