Kolkata, April 3 BJP candidate Shankar Ghosh, who is seeking re-election from the north Bengal city constituency of Siliguri, holds a doctorate in Botany and is a teacher by profession, according to his poll affidavit.
A former CPI(M) leader before he joined the BJP prior to the 2021 assembly election, Ghosh has three pending criminal cases against him, which he described as "politically motivated."
Among the cases filed against him, two of which were in 2013 and one in 2016, are those of alleged unlawful assembly and rioting, using criminal force against a public servant and wrongful restraint.
Ghosh stated that his annual income for 2024-25 was Rs 12.88 lakh and Rs 8.96 lakh in the previous fiscal year.
The Botany doctorate from North Bengal University, he stated in his affidavit, makes him a teacher by profession.
The BJP candidate stated that he has an outstanding financial liability of a little over Rs eight lakh, nearly Rs 7.83 lakh of which is a house building loan.
Known for his erudite ways, Ghosh was the BJP's chief whip in the outgoing West Bengal assembly.
A former CPI(M) councillor in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation in the northern part of West Bengal, he was also a mayor-in-council member of the city.
