A review of the two dozen listed stocks that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi disclosed in his recent election affidavit reveals the market value of his portfolio had recovered fully by Friday, June 7, two days after a massive rout wiped of over Rs 30 lakh crore in the market cap of listed Indian stocks.
Among his key holdings are Infosys, LTIMindtree, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, Asian Paints, and Pidilite Industries. Market veterans describe his stock picks as a combination of large cap index stocks with a preference for defensive sectors.
Assuming no changes in the shareholding pattern since his disclosures in the affidavit for the Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi's portfolio witnessed a Rs 3.45 lakh rise in market value on Monday, June 3, before losing Rs 4.08 lakh the next day, when the actual results were declared. Since then, in line with the recovery in the broader markets, his portfolio has continued to rise, up Rs 13.9 lakh on June 5, and Rs 1.78 lakh the day after. On Friday, his portfolio value jumped by another Rs 10.23 lakh to Rs 4.60 crore. In total, his portfolio value increased Rs 25.30 lakh since May 31, up 5.76 per cent.
Friday gains were seen following the latest economic growth forecast by the Reserve Bank of India.
The rise in Gandhi’s portfolio is in sync with market movements that were witnessed in the aftermath of the exit polls and the election results. The exit polls had projected 350-410 seats for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. The hopes of a clear mandate and political continuity, pushed India’s benchmark indices including the BSE Sensex 3.39 per cent higher on June 3, while the Nifty surged 3.25 per cent. However, both indices fell sharply the next day after the reversal for the ruling alliance.
The Congress has latched on to remarks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers including Home Minister Amit Shah during campaign interviews that the markets would rise due to a strong mandate for the ruling party. “Buy before June 4, they will shoot up”, Shah had said in a television interview.
Meanwhile, Shah's stock portfolio, which includes over 180 stocks, was worth Rs 17.43 crore in March. Stocks like Hindustan Unilever, MRF, Colgate-Palmolive (India), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care and ABB India were among his top holdings. He also held shares of Berger Paints, UCO Bank, Tata Power, Vedanta, GAIL and Anant Raj among others. HUL rose 1.15 per cent post the exit polls, 5.96 per cent on election day and 4.26 per cent on Thursday as markets factor in a boost to consumption as part of the new government’s economic policies.
In the case of MRF, the stock fell 4 per cent on results day but jumped 5 per cent on Thursday on hopes NDA was coming to the power for the third time. Shah other top holdings too saw volatility as the knee-jerk reaction to election outcome played out in the market.
Hitting back, senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal, termed Gandhi's claims as ‘baseless’. "Rahul Gandhi is hatching a conspiracy to mislead investors out of frustration following the opposition's defeat," he said at a press conference.
"In April and May, when the market was rising, foreigners sold in the market and Indian investors took advantage of it and bought it. The benefit of this rise in the last 2 months has been received by Indian investors. The day the exit poll came, foreigners bought at high prices and Indian investors sold at high prices and took profit. Foreigners bought Rs 6,850 crore in retail at high prices and Indian investors took advantage of it. The next day, when the results came on the 4th, when the market fell, foreign investors sold at a low price and Indian investors bought it with the belief that Modi government is coming and we will take advantage of it. So foreigners bought at a high price and sold at a low price. Indian investors sold at a high price and bought at a low price”, Goyal said.
The BJP leader added that Indian investors had earned even in this period. “No one suffered a loss. Rahul Gandhi talks about Rs 30 lakh crores. I understood why the people country have no faith in Rahul Gandhi because he does not even understand that it is valuation. Valuation does not mean anything. The purchase and sale is what matters. And foreigners incurred losses in that. Indian investors have benefited. So retail investors of India also benefited during this period”, he added.