Rahul Gandhi's political career and the level of success he has attained as 'Neta' is a hot topic of discussion. Irrespective of the actual impact, that he may or may not have had in the over 2-decade long political career, the rival BJP has often diminished his status to a maladroit individual. Politics, and public life at large, is game of perception, built on fine-tuned perspectives.
Nevertheless, when it comes to business and finance at large, perception may or may not have an impact, but numbers on paper do. Rahul Gandhi in his recent affidavit, which he filed for the seat of Wayanad in Kerala gives a sneak peak into his financial, more particularly, investment choices over the years.
Largely, the Gandhi scion's assets saw a 28.3 per cent jump, as the cumulative net worth of the the former Amethi MP increased from Rs 15.9 crore in 2019 to 20.4 crore, this time around in 2024. Now, this in the Indian political context is not exactly a massive jump, testified by former Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu, who's personal wealth zoomed from Rs 67 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore, in just the matter of a year in 2017.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi | File Photo
Beyond the Rs 20 crore story, it is about the maturity and ostensible astuteness in investments by Rahul Gandhi, that is underscored by some.
Gandhi has stakes across two dozen companies, that are listed on the stock market. Amongst these 24 companies, many of them are big names, which includes the likes of ICICI Bank, Nestle India, HUL and Asian paints. His top investments however are in Pidilite and Bajaj Finance, Bajaj's Rajeev Bajaj, coincidentally happens to be strong voice in India Inc, often voicing his concerns on issues.
As one can see, there is no sector specific concentration and the portfolio is highly diversified. This is further amplified by his investment in booming tech business. Gandhi owns shares in biggest IT firms in the country, with stakes in Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and LTIMindtree.
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Furthermore, when we take a peripheral look at the performance of these companies on the stock market, we have Infosys, that made major gains over the past five years, with the value of its shares surging by a remarkable 94.53 per cent, to its current Rs 1,477.10. LTIMindtree has seen its fortunes increase by 10.72 per cent in five year-period. Country's largest IT firm, TCS meanwhile has also seen its prices jump by 94.22 per cent to reach Rs 3,978.15 in five years.
The story remains the same with his non-tech investments, as two of his biggest investments have also done well. Pidilite shares have surged a mammoth 132.96 per cent in just five year, taking the price to Rs 2,997.20. Bajaj Finance, meanwhile has also rallied in green over the past five years with a 135.05 per cent surge in its value, taking its price to Rs 7,320.00. Another investment of his, that seen astronomical surge in their fortunes include, Alkyl Amines Chemicals Ltd, whose shares rose a mind boggling 531.72 per cent in just five years.
Apart from these fruitful investments in equity market, he also has investments in he investment in investments include holdings in postal savings, insurance, and PPFs, totaling Rs 61.52 lakh. He also has 52 non-convertible debentures (NCD) of Britannia Industries and mutual fund schemes offered by HDFC AMC, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, and PPFAS Mutual Fund. The total investment in mutual funds is valued at Rs 3.81 crore. Additionally, there is an investment of Rs 1.90 lakh in debentures and Rs 15.21 lakh in sovereign Gold Bonds.
Rahul Gandhi Greets People While Sitting On Roof Of His Car During Nyay Yatra In Assam's Barpeta | Twitter
On the other hand, Gandhi's political career, after the initial bloom during the UPA years, when Congress was in power, has arguably been on a steady decline, especially since 2014. His leadership qualities have often been scrutinized. So much so, Gandhi lost his party/family bastion of Amethi to Smriti Irani, who in 2019 was not even a resident, let alone a voter in Amethi. Irani in fact just turned a resident and a voter in the UP town, right before elections.
Now, whether or not Rahul Gandhi or RaGa is 'Good' or, for that matter, a 'Bad' politician, apart from being a difficult question to answer, is something only time will tell, and for voters to decide, a clearer picture may emerge on 4 June 2024, when results for the elections leading to the next Lok Sabha is declared.
