In a major development on the eve of the Assembly elections in West Bengal, key aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — Rashbehari MLA Debasish Kumar and one of his close associates Miraj Shah — have come under the income tax(I-T) scanner.Shah was also a proposer for Banerjee from the Bhabanipur seat, which will witness polling in the second phase on April 29.According to the sources in the I-T Department, the department moved against Kumar after it detected discrepancies in the declaration of assets in the poll affidavit submitted by him.Kumar is pitted in Rashbehari against BJP’s journalist-turned-politician Swapan Dasgupta.The discrepancies were found in I-T search and seizure operations at the premises linked to the MLA and his associates, following allegations of generation and handling of unaccounted income.“During the operations, diamond jewellery, gold and bullion valued at approximately Rs 1.75 crore were seized. Additionally, Rs 6 lakh in cash was recovered from a business entity in which the MLA is a partner,” said sources in the I-T Department.The raids also involved searches on the premises of Kumar’s associate Miraj D Shah. These searches, I-T sleuths said, were conducted after overcoming a mega challenge mounted by Shah.“The inspection has revealed 8.08 kg of bullions with foreign hallmark. The information has since been shared with the nodal officer of the Board for sharing with the DRI to examine possible violations of Customs laws. The revision of earlier assessment is also being carried out,” Income Tax officials told The Tribune.They said preliminary examination into Kumar indicated inconsistencies between the assets that he declared in the election affidavit and those found during the searches.”Notably, certain valuables, including diamond jewellery and bullion, were not reflected in the election affidavit. Significant differences have also been observed in the quantity of gold found and declared in the election affidavit,” I-T officers said.The department has now issued notices to Kumar and Shah, seeking explanation regarding the ownership and source of the seized assets. Investigations are also underway into the role of certain associates in facilitating cash transactions and investments.“A report detailing the findings has been shared with the Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal,” I-T sleuths said.Significance of Rashbehari seatRashbehari constituency in Kolkata is witnessing a contest between TMC MLA Debasish Kumar and BJP’s Swapan Dasgupta.The TMC has held this seat since its inception in 2011. Before delimitation in 2011, TMC’s Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay was the MLA of Rashbehari Avenue segment.He stayed an MLA here till 2016 before switching to Bhabanipur, which he vacated for Mamata in 2021 after she lost to Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram and had to look for an alternate seat.This time, Union Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned for Swapan Dasgupta.