Out of the 79 candidates contesting in the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha election in West Bengal, 21 candidates have assets valued at more than ₹1 crore, data compiled by the non-profit Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows. Seven of the crorepati candidates are with the BJP, six of them are with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and two of them are candidates of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
According to affidavits filed before the Election Commission of India (ECI), whereas nearly one in three candidates in the sixth phase is a self-declared crorepati, this phase also includes candidates with some of the lowest asset valuations declared across all the phases of the general election in West Bengal.
Eight key constituencies — Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur — spread across five districts in south-eastern Bengal are scheduled to go to the polls on May 25.
The richest candidate in the sixth phase is the TMC’s candidate in Ghatal, the Bengali actor-turned-politician and two-time MP Dev (Deepak Adhikari). He is contesting against actor-turned-politician and BJP nominee Hiran Chatterjee.
The second-richest candidate in this phase is the Trinamool’s candidate from Bankura, Arup Chakraborty, who has declared assets worth ₹17 crore.
Urbasi Banerjee, who has been fielded by the Congress in the Kanthi constituency, stands third with a net worth of approximately ₹6 crore.
Candidates contesting in the sixth phase also include actor June Maliah of the Trinamool, and fashion designer Agnimitra Paul of the BJP, who face-off in the Medinipur Lok Sabha constituency.
On the other hand, Joydev Dhank, a 27-year-old social worker and the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) candidate in Bishnupur, has declared a net worth of only ₹5,000 in cash, with no immovable assets to his name. He is contesting against the BJP’s Saumitra Khan, who has declared assets of over ₹3 crore; the TMC’s Sujata Mondal, with assets of over ₹91 lakh; and the CPI(M)’s Sital Chandra Kaibartya, with assets valued at over ₹98 lakh.
Independent candidates Sanjib Dey, who is standing in Medinipur constituency, and Ajit Mahato in Purulia, have declared assets valued at ₹13,056 and ₹15,000, respectively. While Mr. Dey’s affidavit describes him as a worker at a Kolkata Municipal Corporation drainage pumping station, Mr. Mahato works as a daily wage labourer.
“This comparison between low asset and high asset candidates indicates that a level playing ground is not really there, more so when we see an increase in the percentage of crorepati candidates,” Ujjaini Halim, State coordinator of West Bengal Election Watch, an initiative supported by the ADR, said. “We can’t draw any conclusion now, but once the result is declared, winning independent candidates will most probably be those with high assets.”
Candidates contesting a parliamentary election are mandated to provide a security deposit of ₹25,000 with the ECI, according to the Representation of the People Act, 1951. This amount is forfeited if the candidate fails to procure at least one-sixth of the total number of valid votes cast in the constituency.
