TDP chief Naidu owns ambassador car, wife has no vehicle

Amaravati, April 20 (IANS) Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu owns an ambassador car which he had purchased in 1994 while his entrepreneur wife N. Bhuvaneswari has no vehicle even as their cumulative assets grew by 39 per cent in last five years to Rs 931 crore.

This was revealed in the affidavit submitted by the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister while filing nomination papers for the Kuppam Assembly constituency in Chittoor district.

The nomination filed by Bhuvaneswari on behalf of her husband also shows that she owns more assets than that of her husband.

The couple's assets were valued at Rs 668 crore in 2019.

According to the latest affidavit, the leader has movable assets of just Rs 4.80 lakh including the ambassador car valued at Rs 2.22 lakh.

Bhuvaneswari, vice-president and managing director of family-owned company Heritage Foods Limited, owns movable assets of Rs 810.37 crore including shares in Heritage worth Rs 763.93 crore.

The immovable assets of the TDP chief are valued at Rs 36.31 crore including a house in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills, which he jointly owns with his son Nara Lokesh.

Bhuvaneswari owns immovable assets of Rs 85.10 crore. These include agricultural land and commercial property in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram district.

The affidavit also shows that his income during 2022-23 was nil while his wife's income for the same financial year was Rs 11.34 crore. Naidu's income during 2021-22 was Rs 18.39 lakh while that of his wife was Rs 20.31 crore.

He is also facing 24 criminal cases. These include allegations related to the Amaravati land scam, the fibernet scam, and the skill development scam, in which he was arrested last year.

The 74-year-old, who served as chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for 14 years, is once again aspiring to occupy the top post.

TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance is locked in a direct fight with the YSR Congress Party in the May 13 election for the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats.

He is seeking re-election from the Kuppam seat for the eighth term. He has been winning the seat since 1989.

In 2019, he defeated his nearest rival K. Chandramouli of YSRCP by a margin of over 35,000 votes.