Rs 3,383 crore in assets, but a day out as ‘beggar’: Why BJP MLA posed as one

For about three hours last Monday, September 7, Parag Shah walked through Ghatkopar disguised as a beggar. He went to the station, crossed the bridge, walked along roads in his constituency and approached people for food.

At one point, he went to his own office, where even the security guard did not recognise him and asked him to leave, Parag Shah says. This was not all. The disguise was so brilliant that even his own family members failed to see through it.

The episode has since gone viral on social media, largely because of who this beggar is. Parag Shah is a two-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Ghatkopar East, a businessman and real-estate developer. In his 2024 election affidavit, Parag Shah declared assets of Rs 3,383.06 crore, making him the richest candidate in that year's Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Shah said the exercise was not a political stunt. It followed a suggestion from his Jain guru, Naman Muni Maharaj, during a religious discourse. The message, Shah said, was that people often believe they are recognised because of who they are, while in reality they may be recognised because of their position, power or wealth.

“I may also have started believing that everyone recognises me,” Shah said. 🙏 पवित्र पर्युषण पर्व पर एक प्रेरणादायी अनुभव 🙏 परम पूज्य राष्ट्रसंत श्री नम्रमुनि महाराज साहेब ने अपने प्रवचन में समाज के जरूरतमंद लोगों के प्रति संवेदनशीलता, करुणा और मानवता का संदेश दिया।

गुरुदेव की आज्ञा का पालन करते हुए वेशभूषा बदलकर घाटकोपर रेलवे स्टेशन परिसर में आम… pic.twitter.com/mFL2cWWfne — Parag Shah (@ParagShahBJP) September 14, 2026 His guru then asked him to change his appearance, go to places in his constituency where he believed people knew him, and see how they responded.

He was to return to the same places in his usual identity on the same day. Parag Shah said he spent about three hours around Ghatkopar station, on the bridge and on different roads in the area. But the exercise, he said, ended up teaching him something beyond whether he could go unnoticed.

As a beggar, Parag Shah visited a food distribution point where meals are provided free of charge. He arrived near the end of the distribution and asked if anything was left to eat. A staff member, who did not recognise him, offered him dal, rice, and a bottle of water.

He then went to a samosa seller and told him he had nothing to eat. The vendor gave him five samosas. The encounters made Shah reconsider his own perception of people living with little money. "I had believed that poor people only ask for help," he said, adding that he realised they also help one another.