Shakhawat's riches twice Ivy's

The BNP-backed mayoral candidate for Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC), Shakhawat Hossain Khan, is almost twice as wealthy as Awami League-backed candidate Selina Hayat Ivy.

This was revealed in the statements they have submitted to the district's Election Commission office, reports UNB. Both Shakhawat and Ivy submitted the wealth statements with their nomination papers Thursday.

Ivy, the 14-party alliance candidate, mentioned in her statement she possesses wealth worth about Tk 42.24 lakh. Besides, she owns some one eighth portion of a 1.12 acre plot.

In 2011, Ivy was elected as the mayor when she mentioned her yearly income was Tk 16.47 lakh while she had a bank deposit of Tk 10 lakh and golden ornaments worth Tk 30,000.

Ivy's yearly income was Tk 11.34 lakh as the mayor of NCC. She is not accused in any criminal cases, says her statement. On the other hand, Advocate Shakhawat Hossain Khan and his wife have movable and immovable properties worth Tk 97.05 lakh including cash, vehicles, golden ornaments, electronics, furniture and land.

The lawyer earns Tk 5.29 lakh from his profession while he receives Tk 3,801 monthly as interest from bank deposit.

Shakhawat was accused in four cases. He was acquitted of two while two other cases are under trail and investigation respectively.

Our Narayanganj correspondent adds: The returning officer (RO) of NCC election yesterday has cleared eight candidates, including Ivy and Shakhawat, to contest the polls. Independent candidate Sultan Mahmud has been disqualified as he failed to submit the required number of voters' support in the nomination documents.

The six other candidates are Biplobi Workers Party backed Mahabubur Rahman Ismail, Islami Andolon candidate Masum Billah, JSD-Inu backed Moslemuddin, Liberal Democratic Party candidate Kamal Prodhan, Rashed Ferdous of Bangladesh Kalyan Party and Islami Oikkyo Jote candidate Ezharul Islam. The elections are slated for Dec 22 while the deadline to withdraw nominations is Dec 4 and symbols would be allocated on Dec 5.