SHILLONG: It is the curious case of Vincent Pala, the Congress’s candidate for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat who is running for third term. While politicians’ wealth usually swells from one election to the other, and often disproportionately, Pala’s movable assets have seen depreciation over time.
According to the senior politician’s affidavit for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, his movable assets were around Rs 4.6 crore. Pala had declared a gold-plated wrist watch worth Rs 12 lakh, a gold-plated ring worth Rs 30,000 and a .38 revolver worth Rs 3.5 lakh, among other things.
In his affidavit for the April 11 Lok Sabha elections, the value of Pala’s moveable assets is over Rs 94.2 lakh. The prices of his gold-plated watch and the revolver are at Rs 9 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, respectively. The gold-plated ring is Rs 35,000.
Curiously, the values of the same watch and the revolver are shown reduced, which goes against the ECI guidelines.
The value of his immovable assets is Rs 39.72 crore, an increase from Rs 33.26 crore in 2014.
For Pala’s rival Jemino Mawthoh, the MDA’s common candidate for Shillong seat, the value of movable assets has increased substantially in just one year.
Mawthoh’s 2018 affidavit shows the value as a little over Rs 18 lakh that has increased to over Rs 40 lakh.
In Tura, NPP candidate Agatha Sangma’s immovable assets have remained unchanged but movable assets have seen an increase from over Rs 30 lakh to around Rs 38 lakh.
Samuel Hashah, who is KHNAM candidate from Shillong, is a greenhorn and has moderate assets compared to his seasoned rivals. The value of his movable and immovable assets stands at a little over Rs 20 lakh and Rs 2.5 crore.
