Indian National Congress (INC) leader Rahul Gandhi owned over two dozen shares worth over Rs 4 crore by the middle of March, an affidavit uploaded on Election Commission of India's web portal on Thursday revealed. His investments in 25 stocks and seven mutual funds accounted for 88 per cent of his liquid assets. Gandhi also had immovable assets (property, land) worth Rs 11.15 crore. In total, his total assets stood at Rs 20.40 crore.
As per the details, the Congress leader had Rs 55,000 in cash; Rs 26.25 lakh in two of savings accounts: SBI and HDFC Bank; Rs 3.81 crore in investments in seven mutual fund schemes mainly from HDFC AMC, PPFAS and ICICI Prudential AMC; while he also owned 25 stocks worth Rs 4.33 crore. Gandhi's total investments including investments in postal savings, NSS, jewellery amounted to a total Rs 9.24 crore.
Pidilite Industries Ltd was his biggest stock investment at Rs 42.27 lakh. He owned Rs 35-36 lakh worth shares each of Asian Paints Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd and Nestle India Ltd. Gandhi held Rs 32.58 lakh worth Titan Company shares, Rs 27.02 lakh worth Hindustan Unilever Ltd shares, Rs 24.83 lakh worth ICICI Bank shaes and over Rs 12 lakh worth shares of ITC.
Rahul Gandhi was also invested in midcap and smallcap stocks. He owned GMM Pfaudler shares worth Rs 14 lakh, Deepak Nitrite shares worth Rs 11.92 lakh, Tube Investments of India worth Rs 12.10 lakh, Fine Organics worth Rs 8.56 lakh and Info Edge worth Rs 4.45 lakh.
Besides, Gandhi also held Rs 15.27 lakh in sovereign gold bonds, Rs 61.52 lakhs in PPF account, 333.30 grams of gold (net 168.80 grams) worth Rs 4.20 lakhs).
Rahul Gandhi's asset portfolio demonstrated a strategy of diversification, with a significant portion of his movable assets allocated to mutual funds and stocks, said Sonam Srivastava, Founder and Fund Manager at Wright Research.
"His investments span across various sectors and market caps, showcasing a balanced approach to wealth management. While specific details about the performance of his investments are not provided, the inclusion of both established companies and smaller ventures indicates a willingness to leverage opportunities across different segments of the market. Overall, Gandhi's asset portfolio reflects a prudent approach to investment, aiming to optimize returns while managing risks effectively," the expert said.
In the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad. A sitting MP of Wayanad, he would contest against BJP state president K Surendran and CPI leader Annie Raja from the constituency. He won from the seat in 2019 with a margin of 4 lakh votes. Voting in Kerala for the Lok Sabha polls will be on April 26.
The Congress- led United Progressive Alliance (a coalition of several parties) formed governments from 2004 to 2014, headed by then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. However, it performed poorly in the last Lok Sabha election held in 2014. Currently INC is in power in four states, foreign brokerage UBS said in a March 18 note.