Election Watch: Want to know how Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi invest their money?

New Delhi: Ever been curious about what kind of investment do the politicians of the nation prefer? Well, according to data sourced from the Election Commission (EC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief whip Amit Shah owns hundreds of listed and unlisted stocks, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi invests extensively in mutual funds.

Which stocks does Amit Shah invest in?

According to the affidavit filed by Shah with the EC as part of his nomination papers for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, the BJP stalwart whose net worth is Rs 17.56 crore as of March 22, owns stocks like, RIL, TCS, Bajaj Auto, Colgate-Palmolive, Grasim, HUL, L&T Finance and UltraTech Cement, among others. He was a stockbroker by profession before entering politics.

Shah's exposure to unlisted shares stands at Rs 3.08 lakh. His wife Sonalben Shah holds listed shares worth Rs 4.35 crore and unlisted shares worth Rs 1.58 lakh. She has assets worth Rs 8.35 crore.

The BJP president has a widely diversified portfolio that includes mostly midcap stocks. Although he does have substantial exposure to large-cap plays like SBI, TCS, RIL, Tata Motors, Nestle, L&T, Maruti, Hindalco, ITC, HUL and many others. Sonalben's stock portfolio is equally diversified and comprises of many stocks in common with her husband.

Shah's portfolio, however, does not include any shares of Adani Group companies. As far as Reliance is concerned, he owns over Rs 1 lakh worth of shares in Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Infrastructure.

What about Rahul Gandhi?

Gandhi, on the other hand, has equity exposure mainly through mutual funds. The affidavit filed by him with the EC as part of his nomination papers for Wayanad constituency show that he does not hold stocks directly and all his investments are in mutual funds only. Gandhi has investments worth Rs 5.19 crore in 10 mutual fund schemes.

He has Rs 40,000 in cash, Rs 17.93 lakh in bank savings, Rs 39.89 lakh investments in financial instruments and jewellery worth Rs 2.91 lakh, bringing his the total worth of his movable assets to Rs 5.80 crore. The value of his immovable assets stands at Rs 10.08 crore and liabilities amount to Rs 72.1 lakh.