WINNERS IN MARKET RACE

The outcome of their performance will only be known on May 16 but scores of 16th Lok Sabha aspirants are already winners as they are sitting on hefty returns courtesy their investments in blue-chip stocks with Indian stock market surging to a new high. The Indian stock markets are on a roll with the benchmark Sensex within sniffing distance of 23,000 mark as investors, including foreign institutions, have bet big on a stable government coming to power when poll results are announced. Shares of blue-chip firms like Reliance Industries, Reliance Power and

TCS appear to be favourite among the rich and the powerful. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's daughter and Baramati sitting MP Supriya Sule has stock portfolio worth Rs 5.6 crore that is spread across over 80 companies including United Breweries, Adani Enterprises, Coal India, Britannia, DLF, Hindustan Unilever, Kingfisher Airlines and Ranbaxy. Her husband, Sadanand has holdings in shares of nearly 100 firms.

Film actor and BJP's Ahmedabad East candidate Paresh Rawal has Rs 1.37 crore in listed stocks. He has Reliance Industries shares worth Rs 45 lakh, Tata Steel scrips worth Rs 20 lakh besides small holdings in TCS, among others. Rawal's wife, Swaroop, has a Rs 43 lakh portfolio with the biggest holding being of Mahindra & Mahindra shares. Part of Congress youth brigade, Milind Deora's wife Poonam, holds shares in nine listed companies, including Dishman Pharma, Mukta Arts, NIIT, Oberoi Realty and Adlabs Films. While Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, a Stanford MBA, does not directly hold shares in any listed firm, his affidavit mentions that his daughter Ananya Raje holds stocks in several firms like CESC, CMC, Greaves Cotton, Hikal, JB Chemicals, RPG Lifesciences, Sintex and Zensar Tech. Her total listed stock portfolio is worth over Rs 8 lakh. Mumbai North Central BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan's husband Vajendla has modest holdings in Reliance Industries, Indiabulls Power, Kingfisher Airlines, TCS, Reliance Power and Idea Cellular, among others. Poonam mostly holds shares in unlisted entities. The past three months have seen shares like RIL (up 22 per cent), M&M (23 pc), NIIT (28 pc) and CESC (14 pc) log steady returns. RPG Lifesciences has shot up by over 50 per cent. Indiabulls Power, Edelweiss, Reliance Power, HDFC Bank and GMR Infra have risen in 10-30 per cent range. Another Mumbaikar, Gurudas Kamat, who is eyeing a Lok Sabha seat from Mumbai North-West, and his spouse have share holdings in Edelweiss Financial Services, Facor Alloys, Religare Enterprises and Rishi Laser. 

Filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar, fighting on MNS ticket, holds shares in a host of firms, including RIL, HDFC Bank, Power Grid Corporation and GMR Infra. Similarly, BJP candidate from Mumbai North-East, Kirit Somaiya, has shares in small-cap stocks like GE Shipping, Precision Electronics, Pipavav Defence, Network 18 Media and Sanghvi Forging. Former Infosys Board Member and Aam Aadmi Party candidate for Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat V Balakrishnan's Rs 190 crore total assets have a major share-holding component. About Rs 103 crore is from his equity shares in Infosys and about Rs 5.26 crore in American Depository Receipts of Infosys Limited. Likewise, Infosys co-founder and Congress candidate from Bangalore South, Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani's fortune worth Rs 7,700 crore is almost 80 per cent from Infosys shares. 

TDP's Guntur nominee and MD of Rs 3,500-crore Amara Raja Batteries Jayadev "Jay" Galla is one of the promoters of the lead acid batteries maker. He holds 1.28 crore scrips in the company, besides holding some interest in shares of Andhra Bank, LKP Finance and Padmalaya Telefilms.