Cong candidate worth over Rs 900 cr

Bangalore (PTI): Young and suave Priya Krishna, seeking re-election as Congress candidate from a city constituency for May 5 Assembly polls, has retained his status of the richest candidate with assets of over Rs 910 crore. Krishna, in the fray from Govindrajnagar segment, appears to be the "most eligible bachelor" among the candidates who have filed their nominations. His wealth was declared at Rs 765 crore in the 2009 Assembly bypoll.

29-year-old Krishna is the son of realtor-politician M Krishnappa, better known as "Layout Krishnappa", who is a sitting MLA from Vijayanagar here. According to the declaration before the poll authorities, the over Rs 910 crore assets include movable assets worth Rs 815 crore and the remaining constitute immovable assets. Going by his affidavit, most of Krishna's immovable assets are "gifted". The liabilities of the avid golfer are huge too.

His liabilities of over Rs 777 crore includes Rs 703 crore towards "sundry creditors". An MA in political science from Mysore University, Krishna actively participated in campaigning during the 2004 Parliamentary Elections, 2008 Assembly elections and 2009 Parliamentary elections. An active member of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee since 2003, he claims to be trying to inculcate a sense of social and political responsibility amongst the youth.

Advani, Rajnath, Sushma to campaign for BJP Bangalore (PTI): Ruling BJP in Karnataka is set to unleash a high-pitch campaign for the May 5 assembly polls, with its top national leaders slated to criss cross the state from April 21. Announcing the campaign schedule, BJP State unit President Prahlad Joshi rubbished media reports raising questions about Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's involvement in electioneering.