Dhaka, Jan. 7 -- The declared wealth and borrowing of Syed AK Ekramuzzaman, a former lawmaker expelled from the BNP, have risen sharply over the past seven years, according to an analysis of his election affidavits.

His cash holdings increased more than 27-fold, while his bank loans grew almost 22 times, even as his declared annual income fell by nearly fourfold during the same period.

The findings are based on a comparison of affidavits submitted by Ekramuzzaman for the 11th, 12th and 13th parliamentary elections.

Ekramuzzaman, managing director of RAK Ceramics, is running as an independent from the Brahmanbaria-1 (Nasirnagar) constituency. He won the seat in the last election, despite having been expelled from the BNP before polling....