WHO IS THE ‘POOR’ CANDIDATE

WHO IS THE ‘POOR’ CANDIDATE

30-OCT-ENG 18

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------During the Bihar Assembly elections, many candidates from the NDA, the Grand Alliance, and other parties possess assets worth lakhs and crores. However, there is one candidate in the Grand Alliance who owns neither a house nor any land. He possesses only ₹37,000 in his bank account and pocket. This "poor" candidate is Kayamuddin Ansari. He is contesting the Ara Assembly seat as a Grand Alliance candidate on the ticket of the left-wing party CPI(ML).

In the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission during his nomination for the Ara seat, Kayamuddin Ansari disclosed his assets. According to the affidavit, he possesses ₹20,000 in cash and ₹17,000 in two bank accounts. He has no other movable or immovable assets. However, Kayamuddin Ansari's wife has assets worth approximately ₹5 lakh. This includes gold worth ₹3 lakh and silver jewelry worth ₹1 lakh.

CPI (ML) candidate Kayamuddin claims that while he doesn't have much property, he will receive full public support and will defeat the power of money in this election. He has previously contested the assembly elections from Ara on a CPI (ML) ticket, but has faced defeat each time. In the 2020 assembly elections, Kayamuddin lost to BJP's Amarendra Pratap Singh by a margin of 3,000 votes. The party has expressed confidence in him and has re-nominated him for the 2025 elections. He will face BJP's Sanjay Singh Tiger.