Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar can undoubtedly claim to be the poorest politician in a country that boasts of filthy rich lawmakers always ready to flaunt their prized possessions.
The longest serving Chief Minister in the north-eastern state declared as having cash possession of just Rs 3,930 in the affidavit that he had submitted while filing nomination on Monday for the upcoming Assembly elections in the State.
It is a known fact that Sarkar donates his entire salary to the party fund of CPI(M) and gets Rs 5,000 from the party as subsistence allowances with which he runs his family expenses.
Notably, Sarkar has never filed any income tax return.
Sarkar owns Rs 1,520 in hand and Rs 2,410 in his bank account.
The 69-year-old Left leader and the Politburo Member of CPI(M) does not even own a house.
For the past 20 years, he has been staying in the official residence of the Chief Minister. He even does not possess any land.
In today’s tech-savvy world, when every politician floods the social media with tweets and updates, the veteran Communist leaders does not even carry a mobile phone.
Sarkar even does not have an email account or any social media account.
It is also a common sight in Agartala when his wife Panchali Bhattacharya moves around the capital city of Tripura in a rickshaw and buys daily essentials like a a commoner in the market.