Multi-millionaire businessman Ravindra Kishore Sinha
A multi-millionaire businessman from Bihar is set to be the richest member of the Rajya Sabha. Nominated by the BJP, Ravindra Kishore Sinha is worth 800 crore rupees.
Mr Sinha, 62, runs a securities and intelligence services company or SIS with a 3000-crore turnover. It operates in India and Australia and employs about 78,000 people.
The focus on his wealth does not bother him, the BJP veteran says. "There is no question of getting irritated. This is a fact of life. My taxes on my assets are paid up. I can't give a different statement of my assets to my returning officer, can I?" he says. Most of Mr Sinha and his wife's combined assets are from stock market shares and bonds.
But he does not lead an overtly flashy life. Mr Sinha's bungalow in Patna can in no way be described as palatial. He travels in a bullet-proof Mahindra Scorpio, though he does own other cars, when in Patna. He also owns a house in Delhi and a few cars in Delhi.
Mr Sinha, who will be a first-time parliamentarian if elected, says he began as a journalist in the 1970s and quit to start a business with 250 rupees. His modest origins, he says, make him "more concerned about the aam aadmi's (common man) problems. Because I come from a very humble background and I have not forgotten that."
The businessman is expected to win his election next month, with his party comfortably placed to ensure that its two nominees from Bihar get berths in the Rajya Sabha.
Mr Sinha was seen in political action during the Delhi assembly elections. He worked closely with former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who had charge of the Delhi campaign.
The former journalist promises that if he is elected, he will, among other things, highlight the grievances of media persons in Parliament.