Mahayuti Doesn’t Launch Any Scheme Without Planning: MLA Parag ShahIn this meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the resolution letter of Parag Shah. On this occasion, Mumbai President Ashish Shelar, Kirit Somaiya, Manoj Kotak, Prakash Mehta, Mihir Kotecha, Ram Kadam along with other candidates of Mahayuti were present.
The incumbent BJP MLA from Ghatkopar East, Parag Shah is the richest candidate in the Maharashtra Assembly elections with combined assets of Rs 3,367 crore along with his wife. He runs a construction company called Man Infra Construction Limited.
“I slipped and fell at home, fractured my knee joint, and suffered a torn ligament,” Shah told NH “Doctors have advised surgery but with the elections coming up, I cannot afford to waste even a single minute. I have decided to continue campaigning.”
Till then, he is operating from a hospital bed set up in his office in the sales office of his company in Ghatkopar. “I undergo physiotherapy in my office itself. After the injury, I got two hospital beds — one is here in my office and the other has been set up at home,” he says. Shah owns three floors in a high-rise in Mumbai’s Chembur, where he stays with his family.Shah, who replaced Prakash Mehta in 2019 and won the election by more than 50,000 votes, will undergo surgery after voting on November 20.
On November 1 Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi highlighted the asset declarations of seven leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in both 2019 and 2024, including Shah whose assets have grown manifold since 2019. At the time, his movable assets along with his wife and children were worth Rs 422.6 crore while immovable assets, including properties in Vile Parle, Ghatkopar, Chembur, and Gujarat, were valued at Rs 79 crore.
Asked about the focus on him because he is the wealthiest candidate, Shah says, “That’s true, but I believe that a person should be rich from his heart. Sometimes politicians say anything just to stay in the limelight.” Shah says since he declared his assets they have grown to Rs 3,800 crore on account of his investments. “Does that mean I earned Rs 500 crore in five days? Yes, but it’s only on paper,” he says with a laugh.
Shah who is confident about retaining the seat has a strong rival in Rakhee Jadhav, the candidate of the NCP (SP) whose growing popularity may pose him a problem. The MLA has started reaching out to voters on social media. After taking a break for a day after fracturing his knee, Shah started his campaign by visiting a Chhath Puja at Acharya Atre Maidan in his golf cart, followed by stops at housing societies.
“We understood that due to his injury, he would not be able to climb into a jeep, so we arranged a wheelchair and a golf cart for him,” says senior party leader Praveen Chedda. A specially fitted van with a semi-automatic ramp has also been arranged to lift the wheelchair-bound leader. A party worker says they tried different combinations to figure out the best possible way to help Shah move around for campaigning.
Shah says his pitch to voters does not revolve around any one specific issue. “When I contested the civic elections in 2017 or the Assembly elections in 2019, I did not make any commitments to anyone, and in 2024, I am not making any promises. People know that I am an authentic person and that I have come to work for the country,” he says.
Several votes say Jadhav will provide tough competition because of her work as a corporator, while others say the Gujarati population in the constituency will only vote for Shah. Of the 2.4 lakh voters in the constituency, more than 1 lakh are Marathis and more than 57,000 voters are Gujaratis.
Praising Parag Shah HM Amit Shah added“Our constitution does not allow reservation based on religion. Today, I leave after telling the people of Ghatkopar that Rahul Baba and company may try however hard they want, we will protect the reservation of OBCs, Dalits and tribals,” the Home Minister said.
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