PANCHAGARH, Jan 15: The election affidavit of Farhad Hossain Azad, BNP-nominated candidate for the Panchagarh-2 constituency in the upcoming national parliamentary election, shows that he and his wife own significant assets, including houses, vehicles, cash, bank deposits and gold, while both list business as their profession without specifying the nature of their enterprises.
Farhad Hossain Azad, who is also the BNP's central rural development affairs secretary and district BNP Member Secretary, mentioned business as his profession in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission. According to the document, he earns Tk 20,50,500 annually from business and Tk 38,500 from bank deposits.
However, the affidavit does not specify the type of business run by him or his wife.
The affidavit shows that Farhad has cash amounting to Tk 3,35,055 and deposits of Tk 1,55,88,084 in banks and financial institutions. He declared movable assets worth Tk 3,01,43,139. As immovable property, he mentioned two houses valued at Tk 2,27,27,242.
He also declared the value of a car at Tk 1,16,20,000, though the affidavit does not mention the number or type of vehicles. In addition, he reported possession of 11 bhori of gold. His educational qualification is listed as LLB, and he declared that he does not own any firearms.
In his income tax return, Farhad declared an annual income of Tk 2,89,054 and total assets worth Tk 3,27,39,398, against which he paid Tk 30,740 in income tax.
The affidavit also provides details of his wife's assets and income. Her profession is listed as business, whereas her previous occupation was mentioned as housewife. She reportedly has cash of Tk 37,56,598 and bank deposits of Tk 2,49,000. She owns 108 gold bars and furniture valued at Tk 5 lakh. Her total assets are shown as Tk 2,45,05,598, while her annual income is listed as Tk 5,54,583, for which Tk 10,587 was paid as income tax.
The affidavit states that two cases were filed against Farhad in the past. One case was filed at the CMM Court in Dhaka in 1997, in which he was acquitted in 2001. Another case was filed at Shahbagh Police Station in 2011 and later stayed in 2017.
Regarding election expenses, Farhad said he would spend Tk 5 lakh from his own income and collect funds from siblings, relatives and others, including Tk 10 lakh from one brother, Tk 15 lakh from three sisters, Tk 5 lakh from extended family members, Tk 2 lakh as loans, and Tk 10 lakh from two non-relatives.
The affidavit also mentions partial ownership of land on MR Government College Road in Panchagarh valued at Tk 5,22,000, a house in Dhanmondi valued at Tk 17,05,242, and a Tk 5 lakh share in Rangpur Radisson Specialized Hospital.
