I am not money bag of JD(S), says BM Farooq who owns assets worth Rs 778 crore

Congress MLA BA Mohiuddin Bava's brother BM Farooq, who is contesting the Rajya Sabha elections on a JD(S) ticket this month, is the richest among the candidates who have filed their nominations so far.

Mangaluru-origin Farooq has total assets worth a whopping Rs 778 crores, including those owned by his wife.

However, Farooq says that he’s not the 'money bag' of JD(S). "The 'money bag' tag has been given to me by the media. I am a dedicated worker of the party who wants to see H D Kumaraswamy emerge as the chief minister," says Farooq, who was made chief general secretary of the party after his defeat in Rajya Sabha polls two years ago.

As per the affidavit of assets and liabilities filed by Farooq along with his nomination papers filed on Friday for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, his movable assets are worth Rs 87.27 crore; his immovable assets are valued at Rs 591.3 crore. He has declared that his wife's movable assets are worth Rs 9.11 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 91.23 crore.

In 2016, when Farooq contested and lost Rajya Sabha polls for the first time, his total assets were valued at around Rs 750.2 crore.

Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) and Master of Business Administration degrees. He is the CMO of Fiza Developers and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.

Farooq possess automobiles including cars, aircrafts, yachts and ships. While he owns jewellery/bullion worth Rs 1.64 crore; his wife owns jewellery/bullion worth Rs 2.12 crore. He has declared other assets worth Rs 2.57 crore. His liabilities stand at Rs 121.46 crore.