Tibrewal richest in fray with Rs 3cr: Mamata’s assets shrink over Rs 1 lakh since state polls

The average quantum of assets per candidate contesting the September 30 by-election is Rs. 67.36 lakh. Of the 12 candidates in fray, five are women.

As per Tibrewal’s declaration while filing nomination, she owns assets valued at Rs 3 crore. Malay Guha Roy, who entered the fray as an independent candidate, has declared assets worth Rs 2 crore.

According to the nomination papers filed by the Trinamool supremo, she has assets worth Rs 15,38,029. According to the report, the CM’s asset value has depreciated by Rs 1,34,323 compared to what she had declared ahead of the Assembly elections, which she contested from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district earlier this year.

As per the report, two of the five independents in fray are the poorest of all the candidates, declaring assets worth Rs10,000 each. Lawyer and CPM youth leader Shrijeeb Biswas, who is the Left Front candidate for the September 30 bypoll, has declared assets worth Rs 32 lakh.

The results of the high-stakes bypoll would be declared on October 3.

The Trinamool chief, who contested against former-aide-turned-baiter Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram, lost after a see-saw battle that saw the BJP leader edging her out by a margin of just 1,956 votes. Her party, which fought on her name, however, stormed back to power for a third-straight term, bagging 213 seats.

Banerjee had to be elected MLA by November 5 to remain chief minister. Also a lawyer, Tibrewal fought against Trinamool’s Swarna Kamal Saha from Entally in the Assembly polls but lost by a significant margin of 58,257 votes.

Trinamool had recently raised fingers on the significant difference in assets owned by their supremo and Tibrewal. To that, the BJP leader retorted, “It’s my hard-earned money. I am also an honest taxpayer. I am an educated person who has been working since the age of 18. I have earned whatever I own. Our chief minister is seen in a pair of Hawai slippers but her nephew (Trinamool all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee) lives in a house worth crores. Everyone knows how the Trinamool mints its money.”

Also, according to the report put together by the West Bengal Election Watch and ADR, two of the candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, including attempt to murder and criminal intimidation, among others.