India’s millennium city goes underground every Monsoon, but its MLA’s income has gone through the roof: A look on how MLA Inderjit Rao quadrupled his assets

RAO INDERJIT SINGH — a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of parliament (MP) from Gurgaon, Haryana — has been one of the most prominent figures in Indian politics, particularly Southern Haryana, with a political career spanning almost five decades. 

Alongside his political career, it is the rise in his declared assets that earned him a name in the media  and political debates across the country — which recorded an approximate rise of 384% between 2014 and 2024. 

Hailing from a family whose involvement in India’s politics travels back to the freedom struggle, Rao Inderjit Singh has also recorded a major feat by being the incumbent MP from Gurgaon since 2009, without a single defeat.

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He is the great grandson of Rao Tula Ram — one of the most notable figures associated with the revolt of 1857 — and the son of Rao Birender Singh. His father, Birender Singh, served in the army and was also the Chief Minister of Haryana, a minister in the state of Punjab, and also the second speaker of Haryana state assembly in 1967. 

Declared assets of Rao Inderjit Singh: Making sense of the fourfold rise 

However, it is not only the rich legacy that made Rao Inderjit Singh a popular name in Indian politics. Ahead of the 2024 Parliamentary elections, Rao’s declared assets drew a major attention of political commentators, civil society groups, transparency activists as well as election-watch bodies. 

According to the official affidavit filed by Rao, which has been compiled by My Neta  —  an open data repository platform managed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) — his declared assets stood at Rs 121.54 crore in 2024. It was Rs 25 crore in 2014 and Rs 42.09 crore in 2019. This increase marks a 188.7% rise over five years, from 2019 to 2024, and a 384% rise over 10 years, from 2014 to 2024 respectively. 

This data comprise the assets declared by Rao, his wife, and their Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). The affidavit also records that, in 2024, his movable assets were worth Rs 39.31 crore and immovable assets totalled to Rs 82.23 crore. Similarly, in 2019, the affidavit recorded his movable assets at Rs 20.56 crore, while his immovable assets were worth Rs 21.53 crore respectively. 

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According to a report by The Indian Express in 2024, — who had also tracked Rao’s income affidavit — the assets included his residential and commercial properties, agricultural and non-agricultural land, investments and other holdings.

The report by ADR also details his immovable assets, particularly the residential properties, commercial buildings and lands owned — both agricultural and non-agricultural. 

According to the ADR report, he has residential properties in Delhi’s Satbari and Defence Colony, as well as in Dehradun, Shimla and Nainital. 

Furthermore, he also has other holdings in the form of commercial buildings in Basant Lok Community Centre in New Delhi, and DLF complex in Gurgaon. 

However, these assets constitute the total assets declared in the election affidavit and do not indicate the personal assets of Rao Inderjit Singh. 

It is out of this declaration that brought Rao Inderjit Singh’s name amidst other Indian politicians with large amounts of declared assets. Based on the self-declared affidavits, the ADR in January 2026 found that the average assets of 102 MPs went above 110% in the last decade. 

Of the top ten MPs, five belonged to BJP, one each to Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP),  Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

Who is Rao Inderjit Singh, and what did his political career look like?

Rao Inderjit Singh stepped into electoral politics in 1977. He contested the Haryana Assembly elections from the Jatusana constituency on the Vishal Haryana Party’s ticket. He won the elections and became one of the youngest members of the Haryana legislative assembly.  

Subsequently, he had been in the office four times: 1977-1982, 1982-1987, 1991-1996 and 2000-2004. 

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His parliamentary engagement began in 1998, when he was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha. After the 12th Lok Sabha, he was elected in 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024. 

Earlier, Rao was part of the Indian National Congress, but resigned in September 2013 to join BJP in February 2014. 

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His ministerial portfolio includes a wide range of departments. He served as Union Minister of State for External Affairs; as Minister of State (MoS) with Independent Charge of the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of statistics and Programme Implementation and the MoS in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. 

His career also ranged beyond politics, as he was a member of the Indian shooting team from 1987 to 2003, and also President of Indian Paralympic Association from 2016 to 2019. At present he is the President of the Haryana Rifle Association. 

Academically, he has been trained in the field of legal studies, and finished his law degree from Delhi University. 

[OG/AR/RS]

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