Dhaka, May 6 -- The influence of businessmen is increasingly evident in local government elections, leading to a predominance of politics for profit or personal interest over public welfare, according to Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).

The corruption watchdog made this observation during a press conference on Monday, that was arranged to present their analysis of the affidavits the contenders submitted with their nomination papers for the first phase of the Sixth Upazila Parishad Election.

The same analysis revealed astonishing increases in wealth among incumbent Upazila Parishad representatives, outdoing even MPs - although most of them would have started from a lower base compared to MPs.

TIB said there is a growing tend...