KARNATAKA ELECTIONS

3 Malayali millionaires continue success in Karnataka assembly polls

Kerala has yet again played a part in the assembly elections in neighbouring Karnataka. At least three Malayalis have tasted victories in the polls -- all members of Congress.

KJ George
The most popular name among the trio is 73-year-old KJ George.

George defeated BJP's Padmanabha Reddy by a margin of 55,768 to retain the Sarvagnanagar constituency that he has held on to since 2013.

He was a former Home Minister of Karnataka and has held various portfolios, from Transport to Food and Civil Supplies and Housing and Urban Development.

Outside politics, George is a multi-millionaire businessman, who founded the Kelachandra Group which has a wide range of businesses, from real estate to mining and even aviation.

George's family had moved to Gonikoppa in Karnataka's Kodagu district in the 1960s from Chingavanam, Kottayam in Kerala.

He was a prominent member of the Youth Congress and rose through the ranks and was elected the General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.

He first became an MLA in 1985 from Bharatinagar.

NA Haris
Haris will be reaching the assembly for a fourth time from the Shantinagar constituency.

However, he had the toughest of wins among the Malayalis as his margin was 7,125 over BJP's K Shivakumar. He won the seat in 2018 with a margin of 18,205 votes.

Unlike the veteran George, Haris was born in Bengaluru, a few years after his father NA Mohammed relocated from Kasaragod to set up a metal scraps business. Haris reportedly has assets worth Rs 439 crore.

UT Khader
Khader is the third Malayali to win in the polls. He also has roots in Kasaragod but was born and brought up in Mangalore.

Khader won from Mangalore with a margin of 22,790 over BJP's Sathish Kumpala.

He has been a former Minister of Housing & Urban Development, Health, Food & Civil Supplies in the state.

While Khader has assets worth over Rs 3 crore he declared in his affidavit that he does not own any cars.