Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, has declared assets worth Rs 26.34 crore while his wife, the party candidate from Mainpuri, has assets worth over Rs 15 crore, bringing their total to over Rs 41 crore.

One interesting nugget in the affidavit is that Dimple Yadav owes her husband Rs 54.26 lakh which has been declared under the subhead ‘personal loans/advances given to any person or body, including firm, company, trust etc. and other receivables and amounts from debtors’.

Mr Yadav has declared Rs 9.12 crore in movable assets and Rs 17.22 crore in immovable assets while the figures for his wife are Rs  5.1 crore and Rs 10.44 respectively. The Samajwadi Party chief has also declared Rs 25.61 lakh in cash and Rs 5.41 crore in bank vaults.

Under the jewellery and valuable items category, Mr Yadav has declared exercise machines worth 5.34 lakh and crockery worth Rs 1.6 lakh. 

The affidavit also mentions Mr Yadav’s annual income for the past five years and it averages around Rs 87 lakh. The amount he has declared for FY 2022-23 is Rs 84.52 lakh. It was Rs 1.02 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 83.99 lakh in 2020-21.

Dimple Yadav’s average income for the past five years is around Rs 65 lakh. The figures were Rs 67.5 lakh, Rs 78.66 lakh and Rs 58.93 lakh in 2022-23, 2021-22 and 2020-21.

The Samajwadi Party chief decided to contest from the Kannauj constituency, a party bastion that was breached by the BJP in 2019, replacing his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav, who had been declared the candidate earlier. The decision was prompted by discontentment among Samajwadi Party workers, who wanted Akhilesh Yadav to contest from the seat.

Amethi voters split on Rahul Gandhi’s return. Mixed sentiments: optimism, skepticism. Congress indecisive on candidate. Locals await decision eagerly. TOI interviewees express varied views. Expectations high on potential contest against Smriti Irani.

United States is a safe country and it “cares deeply” for the well-being of Indian students, its Ambassador Eric Garcetti said here on Friday and assured their parents that “their children are our children” when they are in the US. While the US remains a preferred destination for higher studies among Indian students, the string of such cases has raised concern among the Indo-American community as well as the Indian population.