Kolkata: Nearly 22% of the candidates contesting the Assembly elections in West Bengal are crorepatis, as per their affidavits. The average assets per candidate in this year’s elections this is Rs 1.27 crore, as compared to Rs 91.69 lakh in 2021, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) says.
The average asset for the TMC is Rs 5.39 crore, while for the BJP it is Rs 2.91 crore. For the Congress, the average asset is Rs 1.56 crore.
Nearly 72% of candidates (209) fielded by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have declared assets of more than a crore each. Of the 293 candidates fielded by the BJP, 86 (29%) are crorepatis, the report says.
The Congress matches the BJP in percentage, with 86 of its 293 candidates declaring assets of more than a crore each. Of the 198 candidates fielded by the CPM, four (17%), four of the 22 from the All India Forward Bloc (17%) as well as four (24 per cent) of the 17 from CPI have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore, the report states.
“Out of the 2,920 candidates analysed, 629 (22 per cent) are crorepatis, up from 18 per cent during the 2021 Assembly polls in the state,” the ADR report says, as reported by The Statesman.
The Richest Candidate:
Jakir Hossain, pitted by TMC from Jangipur seat in Murshidabad, is the richest among all the candidates. As per his election affidavit, Hossain has declared total assets worth over ₹133 crore. He is followed by Goutam Mishra (over ₹105 crore), who is contesting on a TMC ticket from Barjora seat in Bankura.
Four candidates have declared zero assets, including independent candidate Mousumi Ghosh (Behala Paschim), Welfare Party of India’s Sahajadi Parvin (Uluberia Purba), Aam Janata Unnayan party’s Asif Hussain (Howrah Madhya) and Sk Habib (Uluberia Dakshin).
