Former Sylhet city corporation mayor, BNP Chairperson’s adviser and Sylhet-4 (Gowainghat, Jaintapur and Companiganj) candidate Ariful Haque Chowdhury has seen his annual income rise by nearly four and a half times over the past seven years. During the same period, his wife’s wealth has also increased significantly.
These details came to light after analysing the affidavit submitted with his nomination for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election, alongside the affidavit he had filed during the 2018 Sylhet City Corporation election.
Arif won the mayoral race in 2018 and served as Sylhet city mayor for two consecutive terms. However, he did not contest the 2023 city election due to party objections. This year, he is running as the BNP candidate for Sylhet-4.
According to the affidavit, Arif’s annual income was Tk 7.58 lakh in 2018. By 2025, that figure has risen to Tk 31.83 lakh—an increase of about Tk 24 lakh, or roughly 4.5 times higher.
In 2018, his wife Shyama Haque Chowdhury had no declared source of income. The 2025 affidavit, however, shows her annual income at Tk 24.70 lakh, listed primarily as business earnings. Despite that, her movable and immovable assets are now valued at over Tk 8.42 crore.
Their combined income sources include agriculture, rent from apartments and commercial properties, business profits, shares, and other earnings. Arif alone earns over Tk 18 lakh from business while his wife earns more than Tk 7 lakh from the same sector. The affidavit further notes income from shares and various other categories.
Arif currently owns movable assets worth Tk 4.33 crore, compared to Tk 1.94 crore in 2018—an increase of over Tk 2 crore in seven years. His wife’s movable assets now stand at Tk 1.47 crore, whereas she had none registered in 2018.
His movable assets include cash, foreign currency (USD and GBP), bank deposits, bonds and shares, postal savings, a motor vehicle worth over Tk 1.63 crore, gold, electronics and furniture.
Meanwhile, his wife holds large sums of cash and foreign currency, postal savings, a motor vehicle, 27 bhori of gold, and furniture.
In 2018, his immovable property value was not declared in monetary terms. This time, however, Arif has listed his immovable assets at Tk 15.26 crore, which were valued at Tk 6.86 crore at the time of acquisition. His wife currently owns immovable property worth Tk 6.95 crore, while she had none in 2018.
Arif’s immovable assets include agricultural land, non-agricultural land, residential and commercial properties, tea gardens, farms and other holdings.
The affidavit also states that Arif is self-educated and currently facing nine ongoing court cases, while he has been exempted in one case. Both he and his wife are listed as businesspersons.