Billionaire industrialist Rajinder Gupta is among Punjab’s richest men. With a net worth of about $1.2 billion, about ₹10,000 crore, Gupta is a is a first-generation entrepreneur who founded the Trident Limited, the flagship company of Trident Group.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated Gupta as its Rajya Sabha candidate for the upcoming bypoll to be held on October 24. Gupta’s declared wealth is more than combined wealth of veterans of Punjab politics such as Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bikram Majithia and Captain Amarinder Singh.
SAD leader Bikram Majithia had declared net worth of ₹ 11 Crore in 2017 but he is accused of amassing illegal wealth worth nearly ₹700 crore as per agencies investigating cases against the former MLA. Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had a net worth of ₹59 crore in 2022 while former deputy CM and Lok Sabha MP Sukhbir Singh Badal’s declared wealth is about ₹200 crore
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party has fielded prominent industrialist Rajinder Gupta for the vacant seat in the Upper House. The bypoll is being held to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of AAP’s Sanjeev Arora, who stepped down from the Upper House following his election to the state assembly.
Arora, whose term was to end on April 9, 2028, is presently serving as a minister in the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
“The political affairs committee announces to nominate Rajinder Gupta as a candidate for election to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) by the elected members of the legislative assembly of Punjab,” said the party in a statement.
Who is Rajinder Gupta?
Rajinder Gupta, 66, is among the richest men from Punjab. His networth in 2025 (Forbes list) is $1.2 billion which is about ₹10,000 crore.
Gupta was born in Bathinda to cotton dealer Nohar Chand.
Coming from humble beginnings, Rajinder Gupta made a mark in politics by serving in key government positions in several administrations.
Founder of Trident Limited, which is the flagship company of Trident Group, Gupta is a first-generation entrepreneur. He was awarded Padma Shri by the then President A P J Abdul Kalam in 2007 in recognition of his distinguished services in the field of trade and industry.
In 2022, Gupta stepped down as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Trident Group, citing health reasons, and is currently Chairman Emeritus ofthe group.
Ludhiana-based Trident Group
Ludhiana-based Trident Group is a diversified conglomerate involved in textiles, paper and chemicals with its manufacturing facilities in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
Gupta had earlier held positions in the previous Congress and the SAD-BJP governments as well. Gupta served as vice-chairman of the Punjab State Planning Board between 2012 and 2022 under both the Congress (2012–2017) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP (2017–2022) governments.
After the AAP came to power in 2022 in Punjab, Gupta was appointed vice-chairman of the Punjab State Economic Policy and Planning Board. This August, he also took over as chairman of the Sri Kali Devi Advisory Committee, a popular religious institution.
Gupta has recently resigned from these posts.
Gupta has previously served as chairperson of FICCI’s advisory council for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh, and as chairman of the board of governors of Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. He has also had a stint in sports administration, having served as the president of the Punjab Cricket Association.
Easy entry to RS expected
AAP enjoys an overwhelming majority with 93 members in the 117-member state Assembly. With this majority, the AAP will face no hurdle in sending Gupta to the Rajya Sabha.
In June, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal put to rest speculation that he would enter the Rajya Sabha from Punjab. Kejriwal’s decision to not throw his hat into the ring came after Arora won the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll.
After Arora’s name was announced for the Ludhiana West bypoll, the opposition had claimed that Kejriwal would enter the Rajya Sabha in his place.
AAP retained the Ludhiana West seat with Arora defeating his nearest rival, Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress, by 10,637 votes.
The bypoll was necessitated by the passing of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January.
Rajya Sabha poll on October 24
As per the notification for the bypoll, nominations will begin on October 6, and the last date for filing nominations will be October 13. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on October 14, while the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures is October 16.
The political affairs committee announces to nominate Rajinder Gupta as a candidate for election to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) by the elected members of the legislative assembly of Punjab.
Polling will take place on October 24, and counting will take place on the same day.
AAP had earlier sent industrialists such as Sushil Gupta (from Haryana) to the Rajya Sabha. At present, the AAP has six Rajya Sabha members from Punjab. They are Balbir Singh Seechewal, Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal and Vikramjit Singh Sahney.
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