Malda, April 13: Malda’s most powerful man has a little under Rs 4,500 as bank savings.

According to the affidavit being prepared by A.B.A. Ghani Khan’s election agent Masidur Rehman, the Congress patriarch, who is seeking an eighth straight term in the Lok Sabha, possesses a very humble list of belongings.

The draft affidavit says Ghani Khan has bank deposits of Rs 4,000 in a Delhi branch of Uco Bank and Rs 404 in the Malda branch of Oriental Bank of Commerce. His share of the ancestral house in Kotwali has been shown as Rs 4 lakh.

Rehman explained that the property stood on .96 acres of land and since Ghani Khan had seven siblings, his share of the property had been calculated as .12 acres and the valuation made accordingly.

And, if the affidavit is to be believed, Ghani Khan doesn’t own a car, even the trademark Mercedes is not his. “We are mentioning in the affidavit that Barkatda does not have any bonds, fixed deposits or shares. The Mercedes Benz which he uses is in the name of his brother, Abu Hasan Khan Chowdhury,” the agent said. The Mercedes was imported from Germany in 1982.

Ghani Khan’s lawyer Hasan Ali Shah, who is also the Malda town Congress president, said the affidavit would be submitted before the magistrate on April 20. Whether it will undergo any changes before that cannot be said. “We are ready with the affidavit. It will be submitted before the magistrate on April 20, and the next day a copy of it will be handed over to the returning officer when Barkatda files his nomination,” Shah said.

Ghani Khan acknowledged his lawyers were ready to submit the affidavit. “This time, the Election Commission wants more details about candidates, so my lawyers and election agent are preparing the affidavit, which I will submit while filing my nomination,” he said.

Rehman said Ghani Khan owed around Rs 75 lakh as pending dues for power, water and rent for his MP quarters in New Delhi. “The case is being heard by Delhi High Court and many other MPs, too, have similar dues,” he said.

“Barkatda does not have much property or cash, he had an outstanding bank loan which was cleared last month. There is still some money due to the state electricity board for his Kotwali house. Half has been cleared, the rest is being paid.”

This, the election agent stated, has been mentioned in the affidavit. “The pending bills will be paid in instalments,” he added.