The Bhawanipur bypoll will see five female candidates; BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal is the richest contestant with Rs 3-crore worth of assets
Kolkata: Out of the 12 candidates contesting in the upcoming Bhabanipur bypolls, BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal is the richest candidate with declared assets worth Rs 3 crore. Mamata Banerjee, who must win the election to continue as Chief Minister of Bengal, is ranked sixth with assets over Rs 15 lakh.
According to the report compiled by West Bengal Election Watch and Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), the average quantum of assets of the candidates contesting the bypolls is Rs 67.36 lakh. “17% (2 candidates) of the total 12 candidates are crorepatis in the upcoming elections,” it said.
CM’s assets declined compared to the assembly election
As per the nomination papers filed by the current chief minister of Bengal, she has assets worth Rs 15,38,029. However, the report stated that her assets decreased by Rs 1,34,323 compared with the amount declared while filing assembly polls nomination papers.
Bengal had fought the state legislative polls in 2021 March.
Meanwhile, TMC supremo’s biggest competitor Priyanka Tibrewal’s asset value is around Rs 3.70 crore. Priyanka has also declared liabilities worth Rs 72.40 lakh. She is among the three candidates contesting the bypoll who have declared their liabilities.
Independent candidates in Bhabanipur bypoll
Apart from Priyanka, independent candidate Malay Guha Roy has also declared assets worth Rs 2.81 crore without any liabilities.
Among five independent candidates, two of them are the poorest in the fray with declared assets worth Rs 10,000.
The Left Front candidate who will contest the bypoll against Banerjee and Tibrewal, Shrijeeb Biswas has declared assets worth Rs 32 lakh. There are five women candidates out of the total 12 candidates.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri campaigns in Bhabanipur
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri arrived in Kolkata today to campaign for BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal in the upcoming Bhabanipur bye-elections.
He went to the Gurudwara and met the beneficiaries of the Ujjwala Yojana. “I have come here to seek your votes for BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal,” he said at a street corner. The Election Commission has forbidden campaign rallies due to Covid-19.
In response to Puri, Banerjee has promised to oust BJP from India. “We will only fight and we will only win. We will oust BJP from India. I promise that,” she added while speaking at a street corner.