 | « Back to article | Print this article |
IN PHOTOS: India's MOST VIEWED netas
Love them or loathe them, but you can't get enough of them. Keeping aside all the growing hullaballoo over corruption and inefficiencies, political leaders in the world's largest democracy certainly catch the public imagination. For good or bad reason, is a different story.
A vibrant media, through both its national and regional tentacles, entraps the public by feeding them with 'non-stop' information (and misinformation too, at times) about the political leaders. But then again, there are particular leaders who are more popular (or may be hated) than others.
Netapedia, an online encyclopedia about India's politicians and political events, has come up with a suggestive list of 'most viewed netas' or leaders in the country, as checked on their website. What is interesting is the fact that the entire team behind Netapedia, comprising of Ashish Rathi, Hitesh Lalwani, Premjeet Kumar, Rahul Shrivastava, Rituraj Shukla, Siddharth Bidwan and Sidharth Mishra, are all current students or alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay.
Rediff.com takes a look at the seven most viewed leaders on the netapedia website.
Sonia Gandhi
Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, 62, ranks no 1 in the 'most viewed netas list' on netapedia.
The influential leader, who represents Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli constituency in Parliament, hasn't been accused or convicted in any legal case till date.
Sonia Gandhi owes movable assets worth Rs 1,17,70,468 (Rs 1.17 crore) and immovable assets worth Rs 20,24,300 (rs 20.24 crore), as per her affidavit filed before the 2009 general elections.
Click NEXT to see more leaders on the most viewed list...
Kapil Sibal
Next in the line comes Union Telecom and Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal.
Sibal, 60, who graduated and post-graduated from Delhi University's St Stephens College and went to Harvard Law School for higher education, represents Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency in the Parliament.
Sibal owns movable assets worth Rs. 6,51,46,648 (Rs 6.51 crore) and immovable assets worth Rs. 24,84,14,000 (Rs 24.84 crore), as per his affidavit submitted before the 2009 general election, and is neither accused nor convicted in any legal case, the website noted.
Lal Krishna Advani
Former deputy prime minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani, 81, is the third most viewed leader on the list.
The law graduate from Government Law College, Bombay University, represents Gujarat's Gandhinagar constituency in the Parliament.
Advani, who owns movable assets worth Rs 1,20,43,172 (Rs 1.20 crore) and immovable assets worth Rs 2,35,00,000 (Rs 2.35 crore), is also one of the main accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, the website noted.
Sushma Swaraj
Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj is the fourth most viewed leader on the netapedia website.
Swaraj, 57, who did her LLB from S D College, Ambala Cantonment; Department of Laws, Punjab University, Chandigarh in 1973, represents Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha constituency in Lok Sabha.
Swaraj owns movable assets worth Rs 3,83,20,231 (Rs 3.83 crore) and immovable assets worth Rs 3,86,47,960 (Rs 3.86 crore), as per her affidavit filed before the 2009 general election, and has neither been accused nor convicted in any legal case till date.
Priya Sunil Dutt
Priya Sunil Dutt, 43, daughter of actor-turned-politician Sunil Dutt, represents Mumbai North Central constituency in the Parliament on a Congress ticket.
Priya Dutt, who graduated from Bombay University's Sophaya College in 1988, owns movable assets worth Rs 5,20,90,869 (Rs 5.20 crore) and immovable assets worth Rs 21,93,71,040 (Rs 21.93 crore), is the fifth most viewed leader on the website.
Dutt has not been accused or convicted in any legal case till date, the website noted.
Asaduddin Owaisi
Next in the line comes All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
Owaisi, 41, who graduated from Nizam College in Hyderabad and did LLB in London from Bar-At-Law (Lincolns Inn), owns movable assets worth Rs 40,07,233 (Rs 40 lakh), and immovable assets worth Rs 62,95,000 (Rs 62.95 crore).
Kamal Nath
Union Cabinet Minister Kamal Nath, who represents MP's Chhindwara constituency in Lok Sabha, is the seventh most viewed leader on netapedia.
Nath, 62, who graduated from Kolkata's St Xavier's College in 1968, owns movable assets worth Rs 5,95,45,068 (Rs 5.95 crore) and immovable assets worth Rs 8,65,74,969 (Rs 8.65 crore).
Nath has not been accused or convicted in any legal case till date.
Check out our other top slideshows
