West Bengal Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 418 candidates who are contesting in the Phase 3 of West Bengal Assembly Elections to be held on 21st, April 2016.
Criminal Background
Candidates with criminal cases: Out of all the 418 candidates, 80 (19%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.
- Candidates with serious criminal cases:65 (16%) candidates have declared serious criminal cases including cases related to rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, theft, crimes against women etc.
- Candidate with cases related to Rape: 1 candidate namely Bamacharan Banerjeeof CPI(M) from Bhatar constituency has declared 1 charge related to rape (Indian Penal Code Section-376).
- Candidates with cases related to Murder:5 candidates have declared charges related to Murder (Indian Penal Code Section-302).
- Candidates with cases related to attempt to murder: 23candidates have declared cases of attempt to murder (IPC Section-307).
- Candidates with cases related to crimes against women:12 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women.
- Party wise candidates with criminal cases:15 (24%) out of 62 candidates from BJP, 20 (32%) out of 62 candidates from AITC, 16 (42%) out of 38 candidates from CPI(M), 2 (6%) out of 36 candidates of BSP, 16 (62%) out of 26 candidates fielded by INC, and 3 (4%) out of 70 Independentcandidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
- Party wise Candidates with serious criminal cases: 11 (18%) out of 62 candidates from BJP, 18 (29%) out of 62 candidates from AITC, 12 (32%) out of 38 candidates from CPI(M), 2 (6%) out of 36 candidates of BSP, 14 (54%) out of 26 candidates fielded by INC, and 2 (3%) out of 70 Independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
- Red Alert constituencies*:7 constituencies namely Krishnaganj (SC), Raghunathganj, Raina (SC), Purbasthali Dakshin, Mangalkot, Bhagaban Gola and Bharatpur in Phase 3 of West Bengal assembly elections have 3 or more candidates with declared criminal cases.
*Red Alert Constituencies are those which have 3 or more candidates with criminal cases contesting elections.
Financial Background
- Share of wealth among candidates : The share of wealth amongst the candidates contesting in Phase 3 of assembly elections in West Bengal is as follows:
| Value of assets (Rs.) | No of candidates | Percentage of Candidates |
| 5 cr and above | 13 | 3% |
| 2 crores to 5 crores | 13 | 3% |
| 50 lakhs to 2 crores | 84 | 20% |
| 10 lakhs to 50 lakhs | 126 | 30% |
| less than 10 lakhs | 182 | 44% |
Table: Share of wealth amongst contesting candidates
- High asset candidates*: The 3 richest candidates contesting in Phase 3 of the West Bengal 2016 Assembly Elections are given below:
| S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Movable Assets (Rs) | Immovable Assets (Rs) | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given |
| 1 | Somabrata Mandal | KOLKATA NORTH | SHYAMPUKUR | BJP | 5,65,20,287 | 23,00,00,000 | 28,65,20,287 28 Crore+ | Y |
| 2 | Jakir Hossain | MURSHIDABAD | JANGIPUR | AITC | 17,27,25,923 | 4,68,64,253 | 21,95,90,176 21 Crore+ | Y |
| 3 | Dilip Saha | MURSHIDABAD | NABAGRAM (SC) | AITC | 89,68,176 | 19,10,00,000 | 19,99,68,176 19 Crore+ | Y |
Table: Top three candidates with highest declared assets
- Party wisecrorepati candidates: 61 or (15%) candidates of the 418 contesting candidates in Phase 3 of the West Bengal Assembly Elections have declared assets worth over Rs 1 Crore. 27 (44%) out of 62 candidates from AITC, 14 (23%) out of 62 candidates from the BJP, 11 (42%) out of 26 candidates from the INC, 2 (5%) out of 38 candidates from the CPI(M), 1 (100%) out of 1 candidate from RJD and 3 (4%) out of 70 Independent candidates are crorepatis.
- Average assets:The average of assets per candidate contesting in Phase 3 of the West Bengal Assembly Elections is Rs 74.76 Lakhs.
- Party wise average assets:Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 62 BJP candidates is Rs 1.24 Crores, 62 AITC candidates have average assets of Rs 2.25 crores, 33 SUCI (C) candidates have average assets worth Rs 14.48 Lakhs, 26 INC candidates have average assets worth Rs 1.07 crore, average assets of 38 CPI(M) candidates are Rs 35.09 Lakhs, 36 BSP candidates have average assets of Rs 10.73 Lakhs and 70 Independent candidates have average assets of Rs. 22.32 Lakhs.
- Zero asset candidates:2 candidates contesting in Phase 3 of the West Bengal 2016 Assembly Elections have declared Zero assets. They are as follows:
| S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Movable Assets (Rs) | Immovable Assets (Rs) | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given |
| 1 | Prem Chand Soren | BARDHAMAN | MONTESWAR | Jharkhand Disom Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y |
| 2 | Budo Murmu | BARDHAMAN | MEMARI | Jharkhand Disom Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y |
Table: Candidates with Zero assets
- Low asset candidates:The three candidates with lowest assets are as follows (these names exclude candidates who have declared zero assets) :
| S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Movable Assets (Rs) | Immovable Assets (Rs) | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given |
| 1 | Apurba Biswas | NADIA | KRISHNAGANJ (SC) | SUCI(C) | 56 | 0 | 56 | Y |
| 2 | Manoj Kirtaniya | NADIA | RANAGHAT UTTAR PASCHIM | SUCI(C) | 100 | 0 | 100 1 Hund+ | Y |
| 3 | Ananta Mondal | MURSHIDABAD | KHARGRAM (SC) | SHS | 300 | 0 | 300 3 Hund+ | Y |
Table: Candidates with declared lowest assets
- Candidates with high liabilities:The top three candidates with highest liabilities are as given below:
| S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Total Assets(Rs) | Liabilities (Rs) |
| 1 | Somabrata Mandal | Kolkata North | Shyampukur | BJP | 28,65,20,287 28 Crore+ | 12,55,29,943 12 Crore+ |
| 2 | Ashim Krishna Bhatta | Murshidabad | Murshidabad | AITC | 11,40,68,999 11 Crore+ | 9,93,38,851 9 Crore+ |
| 3 | Md. Rejaul Hoque(Mantu Biswas) | Murshidabad | Samserganj | IND | 2,33,65,103 2 Crore+ | 4,54,79,784 4 Crore+ |
Table: Top three candidates with high liabilities
- Undeclared PAN:A total of 57 (14%) out of the 418 candidates analysed candidates have not declared their PAN details.
- Candidates with high income as declared in the ITR*:6 candidates have declared total annual income of more than Rs 50 Lakhs. These candidates are as given below:
| S.No. | Name | Party Name | Constituency | District Name | Total Asset (Rs) | The financial year for which the last income tax return has been filed by candidate | Total income shown by candidate in ITR (Self+Spouse+Dependent) (Rs) | Self income shown by candidate in ITR (Rs) |
| 1 | Jakir Hossain | AITC | JANGIPUR | MURSHIDABAD | 21,95,90,176 21 Crore+ | 2014-2015 | 1,89,97,290 1 Crore+ | 1,35,67,680 1 Crore+ |
| 2 | Somabrata Mandal | BJP | SHYAMPUKUR | KOLKATA NORTH | 28,65,20,287 28 Crore+ | 2013-2014 | 1,39,49,029 1 Crore+ | 72,46,149 72 Lacs+ |
| 3 | Dilip Saha | AITC | NABAGRAM (SC) | MURSHIDABAD | 19,99,68,176 19 Crore+ | 2014-2015 | 81,21,796 81 Lacs+ | 49,88,650 49 Lacs+ |
| 4 | Md. Rejaul Hoque(Mantu Biswas) | IND | SAMSERGANJ | MURSHIDABAD | 2,33,65,103 2 Crore+ | 2014-2015 | 57,09,992 57 Lacs+ | 45,66,363 45 Lacs+ |
| 5 | Somendranath Mitra | INC | CHOWRANGEE | KOLKATA NORTH | 6,09,32,218 6 Crore+ | 2015-2016 | 56,46,338 56 Lacs+ | 18,67,016 18 Lacs+ |
| 6 | Md Mustafa | AITC | FARAKKA | MURSHIDABAD | 11,95,75,804 11 Crore+ | 2014-2015 | 55,32,835 55 Lacs+ | 32,84,993 32 Lacs+ |
Table: Candidates with high income as declared in ITR
*Total income includes income of self, spouse and dependents
- Candidates who have not declared Income Tax Details*:220 (53%) out of 418 candidates have not declared income tax details.
* Some candidates may be exempted from filing Income Tax Returns
- Candidates with high Assets who have not declared Income Tax Details*:17 candidates with assets worth more than Rs. 50 Lakhs have not declared Income Tax details. The top three candidates with highest assets who have not declared their IT returns are as given below;
| S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Total Income (Rs) | Movable Assets (Rs) | Immovable Assets (Rs) | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given |
| 1 | Hasanuzzaman Sk | NADIA | KALIGANJ | INC | 0 | 18,58,108 | 1,32,50,000 | 1,51,08,108 1 Crore+ | Y |
| 2 | Somnath Singha Ray | MURSHIDABAD | JANGIPUR | CPI(M) | 0 | 48,68,729 | 65,00,000 | 1,13,68,729 1 Crore+ | Y |
| 3 | Rabiul Alam Chowdhury | MURSHIDABAD | REJINAGAR | INC | 0 | 18,15,577 | 76,05,000 | 94,20,577 94 Lacs+ | Y |
Table: Top three candidates with highest assets who have not declared ITR details
* Some candidates may be exempted from filing Income Tax Returns
Other Background Details
- Education details of candidates:183 (44%) candidates have declared their education qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass, while 129 (31%) candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or graduate professional. 75 (18%) candidates have declared themselves to be postgraduates whereas 7 (2%) candidates have declared they are Doctorates and 6 (1%) candidates have declared they are simpleliterates. 6 (1%) candidates in the third phase of the West Bengal 2016 elections have declared themselves to be Illiterate
- Age details of candidates:224 (54%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 50 years while 193 (46%) candidates have declared their age to be between 51 and 80 years. Only 1 candidate has disclosed to be older than 80 years of age.
- Gender details of candidates:33 (8%) women candidates are contesting in Phase 3 of the West Bengal assembly election this year.
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