AL's Momen tops BNP's Enam, others in annual earnings

Ruling Awami League nominated candidate Dr AK Abdul Momen and BNP nominated candidate Enam Ahmed Chowdhury, both running from Sylhet 1 constituency in the general election, have no bank loans according to the affidavits they submitted to the Election Commission.

In their affidavits, Dr Momen mentioned teaching as his profession while Enam Chowdhury described himself as social welfare and political activist. Both of them submitted nomination papers on November 28, the last day of submission.

A total of 11 candidates submitted nomination papers to contest in the polls from Sylhet 1 constituency. The election commission, however, cancelled one aspirant's nomination on Sunday, leaving 10 candidates in the race.

Of the 10 aspirants, AL-nominated candidate Abdul Momen is ahead in  annual earnings while Socialist Party of Bangladesh (BSD) nominated candidate Ujjal Roy has no income whatsoever. However, another BNP nominated candidate, Khandakar Abdul Muktadir, is leading when it comes to wealth  and bank loans. He is also accused in five cases.

Dr AK Abdul Momen

In his affidavit, Momen stated he has a PhD and is a teacher and consultant by profession. Though he and his wife have wealth, they do not have any bank loans.

According to the submitted affidavit, Momen’s annual earnings stand at Tk35,89,171. Most of the income comes from teaching and consultancy. He makes Tk27,41,224 from this professional work. He also gets Tk3,98,424 as house rent and Tk38,833 from business earnings.

In addition, Momen earns Tk3,80,690 from bank certificates and deposits, and Tk30,000 from other engagements.

Momen has Tk2,85,56,521 in immovable assets. Of them, Tk1,79,03,710 is in cash, $1846 in foreign currency. He also has Tk1,97,07,388 in deposits with banks and other financial institutions. He has invested Tk10,00,000 in saving certificates and deposits. Momen owns vehicles worth Tk20,00,000, electronic devices worth Tk5,00,000, with family capital and remittances worth Tk22,85,423. His wife owns gold worth Tk5,00,000 and furniture worth Tk3,00,000.

Momen has Tk4,24,33,885 of movable wealth. Of them, he has non-agricultural land worth Tk22,00,000, buildings worth Tk19,75,885, house and apartments worth Tk3,82,06,000. 

Enam Ahmed Chowdhury

In his submitted affidavit, BNP vice chairman Enam Ahmed Chowdhury cited his academic qualification as an LLB graduate. For his profession, he described himself as a retired government official (secretary) and former vice-president of Islamic Development Bank. He is now involved in social welfare and political activities.

He earns Tk5,41,560 per year from house rent, Tk24,64,920 from shares and bank deposits. In movable assets, he and his wife possess Tk11,00,000 and Tk15,00,000 in cash respectively. As a wage earner, he has foreign currency of $14,920. He and his wife have Tk67,59,197 and Tk14,90,000 respectively in bank savings. Enam Ahmed also has shares worth Tk25,000 while his wife has shares worth Tk31,82,789.

Among his movable assets, Enam has investments of Tk4,57,03,122 in savings certificates and deposits, and Tk1,06,00,096 in his wife’s name. He owns vehicles worth Tk31 lakh. His wife has Tk1,25,000 in gold (25 bhori) and electronic devices and furniture worth Tk5,20,000. Enam Ahmed also has houses that are worth Tk39, 81,000.

Khandakar Abdul Muktadir

Muktadir, another BNP candidate from the constituency, is accused in five cases. The investigation of the cases is currently underway in different police stations of metro Sylhet. Moreover, he was exempted after being named in the charge-sheet of a case previously.

According to his affidavit,Khandakar has a masters degree in political science. He owns six business institutions and earns Tk1,90,665 per year, while his wife earns Tk2,27,000. His wife also earns Tk4,95,000 from apartment rentals.

However, the BSD nominated candidate Ujjal Roy has stated in his affidavit that he has no income whatsoever.

Apart from the four mentioned above, the other candidates are NPP's Yusuf Ahmed, BSD's Pranab Jyoti Pal, JaPa's Mahbubur Rahman Chowdhury, Khelafat Andolon's Mawlana Nasiruddin, Islami Andolon Bangladesh candidate Md. Redwanul Huq Chowdhury, and Islami Oikyajot candidate Muhammad Foyzul Huq.