According to the analysis, nearly one-fifth of the 1,478 candidates in the fray are crorepatis.

A wide economic disparity among candidates contesting the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections has come into focus, with a sizeable section of contestants reporting assets in crores, while a few have declared amounts as low as a few hundred rupees.

The findings are based on an analysis of data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and West Bengal Election Watch, which shows that affidavits of 1,475 candidates were examined, while three were left out due to discrepancies.

According to the analysis, nearly one-fifth of the 1,478 candidates in the fray are crorepatis.

Breaking down the figures further, 228 candidates have declared assets ranging between Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore. Another 46 fall in the Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore bracket, while 35 candidates have assets exceeding Rs 10 crore. Party-wise, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) accounts for 106 crorepati candidates, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with 71, Congress with 50, and Communist Party of India (CPM) with 24.

At the top end of the wealth spectrum is TMC’s Jangipur candidate Jakir Hossain, who has declared assets of more than Rs 133 crore. He is followed by Goutam Mishra from Barjora with Rs 105 crore and Kabi Datta from Durgapur West with Rs 72 crore.

In stark contrast, the poorest candidates present a dramatically different picture. Rubiya Begam of Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), contesting from Durgapur East, has declared assets worth just Rs 500. She is followed by SUCI’s Sushrita Saren from Midnapore with Rs 700 and Jashoda Barman from Jalpaiguri with Rs 924.

The report also highlights concerns beyond financial disparity. A significant proportion of candidates have declared criminal cases against them. About 23% of all contestants have pending cases, while 20% face serious charges.

Among major political parties, the BJP has the highest number of candidates with pending cases, with 106 out of 152 nominees declaring such records. Of these, 96 involve serious offences. In comparison, 63 out of 148 TMC candidates have pending cases, including 48 categorised as serious.