By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 3 Jan: The process of filing nominations and the deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the Uttarakhand civic elections has ended, and the campaigning has begun across all the Urban Local Bodies in the state. In Dehradun, the mayoral fight is mainly between Saurabh Thapliyal of BJP and Virendra Pokhriyal from Congress.
Looking at the returns filed by the two candidates, it emerges that both own assets worth crores of rupees.
While BJP candidate Saurabh Thapliyal currently claims to have Rs 90,000 in cash, Congress candidate Virendra Pokhriyal claims to have only Rs 20,000 in cash. However, the total assets of both candidates are in crores of rupees.
In the affidavit submitted during his nomination, BJP candidate Saurabh Thapliyal disclosed that his family has about Rs 3 lakh deposited in bank accounts. His affidavit claims that the family’s expenses are met through agriculture, which is his main source of income, earning him Rs 5 lakh annually. He has however disclosed that he has only Rs 90,000 in cash. Saurabh Thapliyal has Rs 1.90 lakhs deposited in his bank account, and his wife has about Rs 1.80 lakhs deposited in her bank account. In addition, Saurabh Thapliyal has also disclosed that he owns ancestral land worth Rs 50 lakhs. He currently has a Maruti Dzire car, a bike, and a scooty. His wife possesses 14 tolas of gold, valued at approximately Rs 10 lakhs. Additionally, he has life insurance policies. According to Saurabh, he also has ancestral land valued at about Rs 50 lakhs and does not have any debt.
On the other hand, Congress candidate Virendra Pokhriyal is older than BJP candidate Saurabh Thapliyal and is far ahead in terms of property, cars, and assets. According to the information given to the State Election Commission in his affidavit, he has disclosed that he has about Rs 34 lakhs deposited in the bank but has only Rs 20,000 in cash. Virendra Pokhriyal’s wife has about Rs 2.50 lakhs deposited in her bank account. He has also disclosed that he has invested more than Rs 5 lakhs in the stock market. He also owns ancestral property and about 25 tolas of gold, worth Rs 21 lakhs.
As per his disclosure, Virendra Pokhriyal also owns a Honda City car and a Maruti car, both purchased on instalments. He is also a partner in a cable network in Dehradun. His immovable property is worth about Rs 4 crores, and he has agricultural land worth Rs 3 crores. He also owns a residential building worth crores of rupees, from which he earns rental income.
