Two former NRIs, vying for seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the Telugu states, have emerged as the wealthiest candidates nationwide.
Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, with family assets exceeding Rs 5,705 crore, stands as the wealthiest contestant in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections thus far.
Representing the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur constituency, Chandrasekhar disclosed his family's assets in an affidavit submitted to the Election Commission during the nomination process for the May 13 election.
Originating from a rural background, Chandrasekhar, a Telugu-medium student, graduated from Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad in 1999.
Renowned for providing educational guidance and instruction for medical and other professional courses to Indian students in the USA, Chandrasekhar has been actively engaged in Telugu Desam politics in the USA.
Chandrasekhar had been vying for a TDP ticket to contest parliamentary elections for a decade.
He previously pursued the Narsaraopet seat, his native Lok Sabha constituency, in the same district in both the 2014 and 2019 elections, albeit without success.
He has long been involved in philanthropic endeavors in the Guntur and Narsaraopet constituencies.
Another candidate, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, contesting as the BJP candidate from the Chevella Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana, ranks as the second-richest contender with declared family assets of Rs 4,568 crores.
A former MP with the BRS, he narrowly lost the 2019 parliamentary elections as a Congress candidate.
An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School, Vishweshwar Reddy pursued his engineering degree in electrical engineering from the University of Madras before furthering his studies in the USA.
Vishweshwar Reddy had a stint at the electrical giant GE in the USA before establishing his own business in New Jersey.
Married to Sangita Reddy, the youngest daughter of Dr. Pratap C. Reddy of the Apollo Healthcare group, Vishweshwar Reddy is the grandson of the late Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy, a prominent Congress leader after whom Ranga Reddy district was named.
Former NRIs Lavu Krishnadevarayulu, the incumbent MP from Narsaraopet representing the YSRCP, has switched allegiance to the TDP and is now contesting from the same seat on their behalf.
Sunilkumar Chellamshetty is contesting for the third time in the Lok Sabha elections, now as a YSRCP candidate.
Additionally, several NRIs are contesting in the Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh on TDP and YSRCP tickets.
These candidates boast substantial financial backgrounds, with their overseas earnings propelling them into electoral battles in their homeland, in addition to considerations of caste equations.
