Bengaluru, April 20: D K Shivakumar, Congress leader and Karnataka’s energy minister on Friday has reported a huge increase in wealth since the 2013 assembly elections. DK Shivakumar has become the richest nominee for the ensuing state Legislative Assembly polls by declaring assets worth over Rs 700 crore, as per the poll affidavit filed on Thursday.

In his 94-page affidavit, the 55-year-old leader has declared a total wealth of Rs 840 crore. When compared, the total wealth is up from Rs 251 crore in 2013 and Rs 75 crore in 2008. According to the nomination papers filed at the Kanakapura Assembly segment in Ramanagara district, about 55 km from Bengaluru, Shivakumar, 55, declared his income and assets and that of his wife, Usha's, to be Rs 730 crore.

Reports inform that the state's Energy Minister's income and assets have nearly tripled since the 2013 assembly elections when he had declared assets valued at Rs 251 crore. Through the affidavit, Shivakumar declared cash and bank deposits worth Rs 95 crore, immovable assets including commercial buildings and land valued at over Rs 635.8 crore and gold, diamonds and silver valued at over Rs 1.5 crore, among other assets.

While Shivakumar declared that he had Rs 618 crore worth assets, his wife, Usha, he said has assets worth Rs 112 crore.  The Congress leader also disclosed the assets and income of his daughter Aishwarya to be over Rs 100 crore.

Earlier, he was raided by the Income Tax (IT) Department in August 2017 for alleged tax evasion. According to a ANI report, over 100 IT sleuths had raided Shivakumar's aides and kin at over 60 locations in the state, and in Delhi and Chennai, and seized several documents and cash. A special court in March granted Shivakumar conditional bail after the IT Department had found the Minister allegedly destroying evidence in three tax evasion cases.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2018 01:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).