Maharashtra assembly elections 2024: Ex-cop’s wife declares assets worth Rs 36.45 cr

Pradeep Sharma, his daughter, and wife Swikruti during a rally to file their nominations, on Tuesday. Pic/Anurag Ahire; (right) Former cop Pradeep Sharma’s daughter Niketa filing her nomination

Swikruti Sharma, wife of former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, recently joined the Shiv Sena's Shinde faction and was expected to contest the election on their ticket. However, after being denied a party ticket, she filed her nomination as an independent candidate from the Andheri East constituency. As a precaution, her daughter Niketa also filed a nomination, allowing her to step in if her mother's application was rejected. With both applications now accepted by the Election Commission, Niketa will withdraw her nomination. In their affidavits, Swikruti Sharma declared assets totalling Rs 36.45 crore, while her daughter disclosed total assets amounting to Rs 11.96 crore.

"All the assets declared in the affidavit belong to me; my husband has hardly any share in them. These properties were earned through various businesses and have been fully declared to the income tax authorities. Similar declarations were made by my husband in 2019 when he contested the elections from Nallasopara, and there has been hardly any increase in assets over the last five years - only the value of the immovable assets has appreciated," Swikruti told
mid-day.

According to the affidavit filed by Pradeep Sharma's wife, her annual income was Rs 2,61,04,990 for the financial year 2023-2024, up from Rs 1,98,31,510 in 2022-2023 and Rs 7,15,480 in 2021-2022. In contrast, her husband, Pradeep Sharma, reported an annual income of Rs 1,48,110 for 2023-2024, Rs 9,950 for 2022-2023, and Rs 1,71,160 for 2021-2022.

The affidavit further reveals that Sharma's wife holds cash amounting to Rs 10,78,815, while Sharma himself has Rs 2,25,988 in cash. The total value of her movable assets stands at approximately Rs 9.65 crore, while Sharma's movable assets are valued at just Rs 17.20 lakh. The affidavit further states that Swikruti holds immovable assets worth Rs 26.87 crore, while Pradeep has no immovable assets in his name. Additionally, she has financial liabilities of Rs 18.85 crore, whereas her husband's liabilities amount to Rs 20.35 lakh. Pradeep Sharma's daughter has also declared movable assets valued at Rs 4.1 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 7.96 crore, with financial liabilities of approximately Rs 4.79 crore. "The property declared by my daughter belongs to her, which she has purchased with her own business," her mother said.

In 2019, when Pradeep Sharma contested the elections on a Shiv Sena ticket from Nallasopara, he declared assets totalling around Rs 36.21 crore in his and his wife's names. He reported owning movable assets worth Rs 1.81 crore and no immovable assets, while his wife held movable assets valued at Rs 14.02 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 20.37 crore.

Speaking with mid-day about her husband Pradeep's image as an encounter specialist and the controversies surrounding him, Swikruti said, "The image you see in the newspapers is different. The Pradeep I know, and the one people know, is a gentleman, and I am proud to be his wife. People in Andheri have a lot of respect for him because of his work in the area through his NGO. If you come and speak to people, you'll hear more about his positive impact. I am confident we will win this election as Independent candidate, and my husband will play a big role."

When asked about the Mansukh Hiren murder case, for which he was arrested, she stated, "He was made a scapegoat in that case. I know my husband, and many others know him well too. I won't say much about the case, but he hasn't done anything wrong."

Discussing her priorities if elected, she said, "People in Andheri East face many issues. We have always focused on healthcare, sanitation, and education, and these will remain our priorities. Slum areas here lack basic amenities like clean water, proper drainage, and toilets - these are basic rights. We are not politicians; we have always worked as social workers, and we will continue to do so."

Nov 20
Day of polls