Jharkhand may be the second poorest state in India with over 49 per cent of its population below the poverty line, but that has not stopped its politicians from buying luxury vehicles.
The affidavits filed by the prominent candidates before the Election Commissioner ahead of the Assembly polls have revealed an interesting fact - the favourite vehicle of many politicians is Toyota's Fortuner SUV, according to local news media Jagran.
Niranjan Rai, who is contesting as an independent from Banwar seat, owns a Fortuner along with other luxury cars, which include a Range Rover and an Innova Crysta. Congress candidate from Hazaribagh Munna Singh has two Fortuners while former Chief Minister Champai Soren too has a Fortuner.
#WATCH | Jharkhand CM-designate Champai Soren leaves from Circuit House in Ranchi to meet former CM and JMM national president Shibu Soren. pic.twitter.com/fZdzcMK5a6
— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2024
Congress candidate and former MLA KN Tripathi is also a proud owner of a Fortuner while Madhupur candidate Urban Development Minister Hafizul Hasan too owns the same brand car. Others who own Toyota Fortuner include Ministers Deepak Birua, Irfan Ansari and Deepika Pandey.
After Fortuner, many politicians seem to prefer Scorpio.
Hemant Soren has only one car
Interestingly, Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is contesting from Barhet seat, has only one car. He has stated its current price as Rs. 60,000. However, his wife Kalpana Soren has a Force Urbania Pan worth Rs 32.27 lakh under his name. She also owns a Hyundai I-20 and Maruti's Xpulse 6 model car.
As for the candidate with the most vehicles, it is the JMM candidate from Rajmahal, M T Raja. His entire fleet is worth more than Rs 8.63 crore. This includes seven Tata tipper trucks, a Toyota Qualis, four Hyundai excavators, a Force One car, an Innova Crysta, a Maruti Brezza, a Scorpio, three tractors and eight trucks.
BJP candidate from Madhupur, Ganga Narayan Singh, too has a fleet of two XUV-500s, a Jeep, a Fortuner SUV, a WagonR, a bus and 14 bikes.
Jharkhand also has two motorcycle lovers. Congress candidate Ajay Kumar has a Harley Davidson worth Rs 5.35 lakh and two Royal Enfield Bullets. Minister Hafizul Hasan has a Bullet and Yamaha Mfzeh bike worth Rs 2 lakhs while Minister Deepak Birua too has a 1965 model Royal Enfield.
