New Delhi:

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani emerged as the biggest dollar gainer on Thursday among the list of Forbes India’s 100 richest tycoons, with the family’s net worth rising to $116 billion.

Along with his brother Vinod Adani, Gautam Adani added $48 billion to climb up to the second position on the list. The Forbes report said Mr Adani posted a strong recovery from “last year’s short-selling attack”. This amounts to a 71 percent rise in wealth.

Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani’s wealth increased by $27.5 billion to bring his total net worth to $119.5 billion. Mr Ambani’s wealth rose by 30 percent, even as he emerged as the second biggest dollar gainer this year. Reliance had announced a bonus issue of shares as a Diwali gift to Reliance investors.

In a record-breaking year, the collective wealth of India’s 100 richest tycoons surpassed the trillion dollar milestone for the first time as more than 80 per cent of the country’s richest tycoons are now wealthier than they were a year ago and twice as rich as they were in 2019, the Forbes report showed.

More than 80% of the richest Indians are wealthier with 58 of them adding $1 billion or more to their respective net worths. Half a dozen fortunes swelled by more than $10 billion each, including the top five, who as a group gained nearly $120 billion. The top 12 list members account for roughly half the group’s combined wealth.

India’s richest woman Savitri Jindal, matriarch of steel-to-power conglomerate OP Jindal Group, whose son Sajjan Jindal recently made an ambitious foray into electric vehicles with MG Motor, moved up to No. 3 for the first time. She’s one of nine women on the list, up from eight a year ago.

The new woman in the ranks is Mahima Datla, who controls privately-held vaccine producer Biological E. She’s one of four newcomers to the list, a group that includes B Partha Saradhi Reddy, founder of Hetero Labs, a maker of generic medicines and pharma ingredients.

The two other new faces are Harish Ahuja, whose apparel maker Shahi Exports supplies to labels such as H&M and Calvin Klein; India’s booming IPO market made Surender Saluja, founder and chairman of Premier Energies, which makes solar panels and modules, a multi-billionaire after his company got listed in September.

Dilip Shanghvi, founder of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, jumped three spots to No. 5 with $32.4 billion on rising demand for its skin treatments for everything from acne to psoriasis; siblings Sudhir & Samir Mehta, whose Torrent Group flagship Torrent Pharmaceuticals is eyeing acquisitions, more than doubled their wealth to $16.3 billion.

Four prominent property fortunes on the list were up more than $16 billion combined. Another notable real estate gainer was Irfan Razack and his siblings, whose Bangalore-based developer Prestige Estates Projects rode the boom in India’s tech capital and is now making a mark in Mumbai, the country’s financial hub. The family is one of five members who had previously dropped out of the ranks but rejoined after a hiatus. The other four made their fortunes in everything from operating airports to making industrial explosives.

The storied Godrej family finally concluded a division of their holdings between two factions in April and as a result they appear separately for the first time: brothers Adi & Nadir Godrej, who control the listed companies under the Godrej Industries Group, and their cousins Jamshyd Godrej and Smita Crishna Godrej, who control their privately held flagship Godrej & Boyce under the Godrej Enterprises Group.

The youngest list member is Nikhil Kamath, 38 who cofounded and runs discount brokerage Zerodha with his brother Nithin, 45.

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Three Independent Haryana MLAs, including India’s richest woman Savitri Jindal, are likely to extend support to the BJP government in the state. Ms Jindal, Devender Kadyan and Rajesh Joon will meet the BJP high command and the state election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan today.

Ms Jindal, a former Congress minister, secured victory from Hisar – a seat that she had won in 2005 and 2009. Mr Kadyan, a BJP rebel, won from Ganaur as an Independent while Mr Joon defeated his BJP rival to secure victory in Bahadurgarh.

Ms Jindal, who had joined the BJP in March after parting ways with the Congress, contested the Haryana assembly polls as an Independent after being denied a ticket by the BJP.

Read | Is India’s Richest Woman Savitri Jindal BJP’s ‘B Team’ In Haryana? What She Told NDTV

The 74-year-old leader, however, denied that she was a rebel and told NDTV yesterday she contested as an Independent to respect the wishes of the people of Hisar.

“They (the people of Hisar) wanted me to contest at any cost. Doctor sahab (Dr Kamal Gupta) is contesting from the BJP and the Congress has fielded Rara sahab (Ram Niwas Rara), so I had no choice but to contest as an Independent,” said Ms Jindal, whose son Naveen Jindal is the BJP MP from Kurukshetra.

The BJP pulled a surprise victory in the Haryana elections yesterday to return to power for a historic third time in a row. Sources suggest Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini would return for a second stint in the top post for leading the BJP to victory.

For the BJP, which is comfortably past the halfway mark with 48 seats, support from the three Independents will further cement its strength in the 90-member assembly.

The Congress, which came second, has refused to accept the results and alleged several irregularities in the counting process.

The BJP denying a ticket to India’s richest woman, Savitri Jindal, who joined the party in March after quitting the Congress, came as a surprise to many and the two-time MLA from Hisar and former Haryana minister is now contesting as an Independent from the constituency. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Saturday, the 74-year-old spoke about why she did not contest on a Congress ticket when the BJP decided to go with Haryana minister and sitting Hisar MLA Kamal Gupta, and also answered a question on whether she would support the BJP if she gets elected.

Ms Jindal said that her husband, OP Jindal, used to represent the Hisar constituency and she entered politics after he died. “I lost the Assembly elections in 2014 and chose not to contest in 2019, but my Hisar family insisted that I should be a candidate this time. I am contesting because they have asked me to.”

On her family’s old relationship with the Congress and whether her contesting as an Independent should be seen as a rebellion against the BJP, Ms Jindal, whose son Naveen Jindal is a BJP MP, said she had not rebelled and reiterated that she had respected the wishes of the people of Hisar. 

Asked why she did not contest on a ticket from the Congress when the BJP did not field her, she said, “They (the people of Hisar) wanted me to contest at any cost. Doctor sahab (Dr Kamal Gupta) is contesting from the BJP and the Congress has fielded Rara sahab (Ram Niwas Rara), so I had no choice but to contest as an Independent.”

Ms Jindal, who has been listed by Forbes India as the country’s richest woman with a net worth of $ 29.1 billion, insisted that her rival is neither the Congress nor the BJP and that she is running her own campaign.

To a question on talk that she is the B Team of the BJP and would support the party if she wins, Ms Jindal said, “No, I haven’t thought of anything. My Hisar family will decide, I am their representative.” 

She also remained non-committal on supporting either the Congress or the BJP if they needed her help to cobble together numbers after the election and said she would leave that decision to God’s will. 

Polling will be held in all 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana on October 5 and counting will take place on October 8. 

Hisar:

Savitri Jindal, an independent candidate contesting from the Hisar Assembly seat in Haryana, released her “Sankalp Patra” on Sunday. In the Sankalp Patra, she expressed her commitment to the development of Hisar.

On the social media platform X, Ms Jindal wrote, “Today, I unveiled my manifesto for the development of Hisar with media colleagues. The dream that my father, OP Jindal, envisioned for Hisar will be realised over the next five years. We will first address the fundamental issues in Hisar, and then take the city to new heights of development.”

आज हिसार में मीडिया साथियों के साथ अपने हिसार के विकास को लेकर अपने संकल्प पत्र का विमोचन किया। हिसार को लेकर बाऊजी ओपी जिन्दल जी ने जो सपना देखा था अगले 5 साल में हम उन्हे जरूर पूरा करेंगे। पहले हिसार में मूलभूत समस्याओं का समाधान निकालेंगे फिर हमारे शहर को विकास की नई ऊंचाइयों… pic.twitter.com/3aGGkZiDSl

— Savitri Jindal (@SavitriJindal) September 22, 2024

Savitri Jindal, a former minister and one of the richest women in India, emphasised that her father’s vision must be fulfilled, starting with resolving the basic problems of Hisar before moving on to broader development initiatives.

During the launch of the Sankalp Patra, she was accompanied by Madhusudan Agarwal, MD and Vice Chairman of Ajanta Pharma; Mahendra Arya, former president of the All India Transport Association; and Krishna Gorakhpuriya, Chairman of Darsel. Jindal expressed her gratitude to everyone who attended the event.

In her Sankalp Patra, Savitri Jindal prioritised local development and basic amenities, stating that resolving fundamental issues would be her first task, followed by advancing Hisar’s growth.

It’s noteworthy that Savitri Jindal has previously served as a minister in the Haryana government and was a sitting MLA for the Hisar seat. She faced defeat in the 2014 assembly elections.

For the upcoming elections, the BJP has fielded Dr. Kamal Gupta, while the Congress has nominated Ramniwas Rada for the Hisar seat.

Savitri Jindal, who has previously won five out of six elections, wields considerable influence thanks to her family’s political legacy. Her decision to enter the race follows the denial of a BJP ticket to her, positioning her as a strong contender with a personal stake in reversing her 2014 defeat by Dr. Gupta. With a total of 21 candidates in the race, the main competition is primarily between Jindal, Rada, and Gupta.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hisar, Haryana:

The BJP’s Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal’s mother Savitri Jindal, who was an aspirant of a poll ticket from the party for the Haryana Assembly elections, filed her nomination from the Hisar seat as an Independent on Thursday.

On the last day of the filing of nominations, 74-year-old Ms Savitri, the wife of noted industrialist late O P Jindal, entered the fray against Haryana Minister and sitting MLA from Hisar Kamal Gupta.

Forbes India has listed her as the richest woman in the country this year having a net worth of USD 29.1 billion.

Polling for the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the results will be declared on October 8.

After filing her nomination, she said, “I have pledged to serve Hisar for its development and transformation. The people of Hisar are my family and Om Prakash Jindal had established my relationship with this family.”

“The Jindal family has always served Hisar. I am fully dedicated to living up to the expectations of the people and maintaining their trust,” said Savitri Jindal.

When the BJP fielded Kamal Gupta from the Hisar Assembly segment, Savitri Jindal was asked by reporters if her contesting the seat against the ruling party would not amount to rebellion.

“It won’t be considered so. I had only campaigned for my son (Naveen Jindal in the Lok Sabah polls). I have not taken any membership (of the BJP),” she had said.

Savitri Jindal was elected as an MLA from the Hisar seat twice. She became represented Hisar in the Haryana Assembly for the first time in 2005 as a Congress MLA. She was reelected from the seat in 2009 and was made a minister in the Singh Hooda government in 2013. She quit the Congress in March this year when her son Naveen Jindal also left the party and later joined the BJP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

BJP leader and richest Indian woman with $33 billion net worth, Savitri Jindal, whose youngest son Naveen Jindal is also in the fray, on Saturday, cast her vote in her hometown Hisar in Haryana.

Besides former state minister Savitri Jindal (74), who is the chairperson of the Jindal Group, founded by her late husband, Om Prakash Jindal, in 1979, Chief Minister Nayab Saini and his predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar were among the early voters to cast their votes at their respective polling stations.

After casting the vote, Savitri told the media that the country has developed at a fast pace under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Seemingly confident about the BJP’s prospects in the general elections, she added, “Prime Minister Modi will be elected for a third consecutive term.”

Savitri’s youngest son Naveen Jindal (54) is the BJP’s candidate from Kurukshetra, the seat he represented between 2004 and 2014.

Savitri and her son switched from the Congress to the BJP in March, ending their nearly two-decade association with the Congress.

Mr Jindal is taking on AAP candidate and former Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta. The AAP is contesting the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana in an alliance with Congress and has been given Kurukshetra. The Congress is contesting on the remaining nine seats in alliance with AAP.

Savitri joined politics following the death of her husband won the 2005 Hisar assembly bypoll and joined the Haryana government.

Later, she won the Assembly polls from Hisar in 2009 and became a minister in 2013.

Polling started at 7 a.m. across all the 10 Lok Sabha seats and a bypoll of the Karnal Assembly seat amid tight security in the sixth and penultimate phase of the general elections. It will continue till 6 p.m.

Votes will be counted on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)