AP bypolls have sprang up a startlingly richest candidate for the ensuing by-elections on 12 June. The TDP candidate from Raidurg constituency in Ananthapur district has emerged as the richest candidate in India ever to have contested in elections. The candidate, G Deepak Reddy has put his worth close to Rs. 6,800 crore, which is the highest figure declared in the country so far.

The 39-year-old Telugu Desam Party candidate's election affidavit states his worth as being close to Rs. 6,800 crore. That is the highest figure ever declared by a candidate in Indian elections - Parliament or Assembly - since the practice of filing affidavits with these details was enforced in 2004. The figure is almost four-and-a-half times the next in the Top 10 list. That was Rs. 1,522.5 crore declared by Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the former Maharaja of Mysore, in the 2004 Lok Sabha election.

No less startling is that Mr. Deepak Reddy's affidavit reports his annual income as just over Rs. 3.27 lakh, and that of his wife at just under Rs. 2 lakh. Remarkable figures on a worth of Rs. 6,800 crore. "One is fixed assets," he explained while on the campaign trail. "The other is income. There's a difference." A very substantial difference. The income stated is from his Income Tax return for the assessment year 2009-10 (that is, financial year 2008-09). The affidavit carries no figures for the two subsequent financial years. It does state that Mr. Deepak Reddy has an MBA from Widener University in Philadelphia, U.S. The TDP candidate is also the son-in-law of J.C. Prabhakar Reddy, Congress leader and ex-Municipal Chairman of Tadipatri in Anantapur - whose brother is J.C. Diwakar Reddy, Congress MLA and former long-time Minister.

Mr. Deepak Reddy explained that the huge figure comes from the stake he has in property, some of it embroiled in disputes. And also that “he has agreements with some parties who I am helping in the battle to recover land grabbed by the government.” Among the property parcels he lists in an annexure to the affidavit, the top three are worth Rs. 3,128 crore, Rs. 943 crore and Rs. 529 crore. Just the value of the property, some of which are unregistered, comes to Rs. 6,781 crore. Much of that is under litigation. Apart from these, he has assets worth around Rs. 20 crore. He told that his main interests are in mining business.