Bihar election's richest candidate RKP Singh trailing from Lauriya
What's the story
Bihar's richest candidate, Ran Kaushal Pratap Singh of the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), is trailing from the Lauriya constituency. As per the Election Commission website, Vinay Bihari of the BJP is leading by 300 plus votes, followed by Singh and Jan Suraaj Party's Sunil Kumar. The VIP is contesting the election in alliance with the Mahagathbandhan. VIP chief Mukesh Sahani is the deputy CM's face of the opposition alliance.
Other candidates
RJD's Dipak Yadav also among wealthy candidates
Ahead of the election, Singh, also known as Guddu Singh, declared assets worth ₹373 crore. His affidavit, available on the Election Commission website, shows his wealth includes agricultural land worth ₹2.58 crore and non-agricultural land valued at ₹352 crore. Singh's wealth has increased nearly 47 times since his first election. Another wealthy candidate from West Champaran is Dipak Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Yadav, who is contesting from Narkatiaganj assembly constituency, has declared assets worth ₹80 crore.
Asset details
Singh's wife owns shares worth ₹6.59 crore
Singh has also declared shares and securities worth ₹5.51 crore in his affidavit. His wife Saloni Singh has assets worth ₹131 crore and investments of ₹6.59 crore. The family owns seven luxury vehicles and possesses foreign-made firearms. Household jewelry includes around 3.4kg of gold owned by his wife and daughters, while Singh himself possesses 600gm of gold and diamond jewelry.
Wealth growth
Singh's assets have grown significantly over the years
Singh's affidavit also reveals loans of around ₹14.46 crore in his name and ₹1.12 crore in his wife's name. His assets have grown significantly since he first contested from Lauriya in 2015 on an RJD ticket, when he had declared assets worth ₹8 crore. In the next election, contesting on a BSP ticket, Singh declared assets worth ₹13 crore.