Union Minister Hardeep Puri Files for Rajya Sabha Bypoll as Affidavit Reveals Wife's Wealth

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri filed his nomination on Saturday for the November 12 Rajya Sabha by-election from Madhya Pradesh. His election affidavit shows his wife earns more than double his income and owns a Geneva apartment valued at around 34 crore rupees. Laxmi Puri, a retired Indian foreign service officer and former United Nations official, declared movable assets worth 10.66 crore rupees, while her husband declared 6.54 crore rupees. Her annual income is 1.69 crore rupees compared to the union petroleum and natural gas minister's annual income of 75.57 lakh rupees. Her bank deposits stand at around 1.02 crore rupees, surpassing Puri's 22.20 lakh rupees. Laxmi Puri's immovable assets are valued at 9 crore rupees, including the Swiss property worth 3 million Swiss francs and a house in Greater Noida valued at 19.52 lakh rupees. She also declared foreign currency holdings of 290,658 dollars, which equals roughly 2.75 crore rupees. Over the past five years, her annual income climbed from 15.39 lakh rupees, supported by pensions from the Indian government and the United Nations, rental earnings, and bank interest. Puri's income rose from 63.36 lakh rupees over the same period through his ministerial salary, pension, rent from a Delhi property, and bank interest. Puri himself holds immovable assets worth 20 crore rupees, including a residential property in Delhi's West End area. He has 10,000 rupees in cash and a vehicle worth around 32 lakh rupees, whereas his wife has 20,000 rupees in cash and jewellery worth 45 lakh rupees. Both maintain investments in Public Provident Fund and Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme accounts, and neither has any outstanding loans or bank liabilities. The affidavit confirms that no criminal cases are pending against Puri and he has never been convicted. The BJP announced his candidature on October 28 for the seat vacated by L Murugan, who resigned on October 13. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav, state president Hemant Khandelwal, and deputy chief ministers Jagdish Deora and Rajendra Shukla attended the nomination filing. Ahead of filing his papers, Puri offered prayers at a gurudwara and visited Sant Sudesh Shandilya Maharaj at Karuna Dham Ashram. Meanwhile, the Congress party criticized the nomination, accusing the BJP of promoting a candidate with links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Puri acknowledged meeting Epstein a few times professionally before joining the Union Cabinet in 2017 but denied any wrongdoing.

Context

Rajya Sabha by-elections allow filling legislative vacancies that occur mid-term due to resignations or other reasons, maintaining full representation for states in Parliament. Election affidavits are mandatory legal documents where candidates must fully declare all assets, liabilities, and criminal records to ensure transparency before voters and election authorities.