Zakir Hussain, Trinamool Congress candidate from Jangipur seat in West Bengal, had declared assets worth Rs 67 crore in the 2021 assembly elections and now five years later, he has mentioned assets worth more than Rs 133 crore in the 2026 election affidavit. Hussain’s wealth has almost doubled in five years and with this he is among the richest candidates in the 2026 elections.
He is not alone in increasing his wealth. BJP’s Purulia MLA Sudeep Kumar Mukherjee is contesting again from this seat. His wealth has increased from Rs 45 lakh in 2021 to Rs 11 crore in 2026, which means there has been an increase of 2,344 percent in his wealth.
In the first phase of West Bengal Assembly elections, many prominent candidates have declared huge increase in their assets. The assets of Trinamool Congress’s Krishna Kalyani, who is contesting re-election from Raiganj in North Dinajpur district, have increased from about Rs 5.8 crore in 2021 to more than Rs 20 crore in 2026. This difference represents a 247 percent increase in his wealth.
Trinamool Congress candidate Manas Ranjan’s assets doubled
Trinamool Congress candidate Manas Ranjan Bhunia, contesting from Sabang in West Medinipur district, has mentioned that his wealth has doubled to Rs 15 crore this time as compared to 2021. On the contrary, there has been a decline in the movable assets of Subhendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing assembly.
The 2026 election affidavit of the BJP leader, who is contesting again from the Nandigram seat and facing a tough challenge from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the Bhawanipur seat in South Kolkata, shows that his income has increased from about Rs 8.13 lakh in 2020-21 to Rs 17.38 lakh in 2024-25. However, Subhendu Adhikari has declared his movable assets to be around Rs 24.57 lakh, which is less than Rs 59.31 lakh recorded in 2021.
Sukumar Rai’s wealth increased by 300 percent
The assets of BJP’s Sukumar Rai, who is contesting from Cooch Behar North seat, have seen an increase of over 300 per cent, while the assets of candidates like BJP’s Chinmoy Deb Barman (Toofanganj seat) and Trinamool Congress’ Baharampur candidate Subrata Maitra have seen an increase of over 150 per cent. However, not all candidates have recorded an increase in the property value.
Apart from Adhikari, Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha candidate from Kalimpong Ruden Sada Lepcha, Trinamool Congress candidate from Suti Imani Biswas and BJP candidate from Moyna seat and cricketer-turned-politician Ashok Dinda have mentioned a decline in their assets compared to 2021. The figures are based on self-declared affidavits submitted to the Election Commission, showing the financial position of the candidates contesting re-election in the first phase of voting on April 23.
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